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THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


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in  memory  of 
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Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 


The  Little  Cousin  Series 

J> 

Each  volume  illustrated  with  six  or  more  full-page  plates 

in  tint.     Cloth,  i2mo,  with  decorative  cover, 

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LIST   OF  TITLES 

By  Mary  Hazelton  Wade  (unless  otherwise  indicated) 

-    Our  Little  African  Cousin 

Our  Little  Japanese  Cousin 

Our  Little  Armenian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Brown  Cousin 
i    Our  Little  Canadian  Cousin 

By  Elizabeth  R.  Macdonald 
Our  Little  Chinese  Cousin     .- 
By  Isaac  Taylor  Headland 
Our  Little  Cuban  Cousin 
Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 
Our  Little  English  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 
-     Our  Little  Eskimo  Cousin 

Our  Little  Jewish  Cousin 

Our  Little  Korean  Cousin 

By  H.  Lee  M.  Pike 

Our  Little   Mexican  Cousin     '• 

By  Edward  C.   Butler 

s/Our  Little  Norwegian  Cousin 

VOur  Little  Panama  Cousin 

By  H.  Lee  M.  Pike 

y  Our  Little  Philippine  Cousin 
Our  Little  Porto  Rican  Cousin    / 
Our  Little  Russian  Cousin      L***' 

,-  Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  French  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 
Our  Little  German  Cousin 

Our  Little  Siamese  Cousin 
"~*Our  Little  Spanish  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon-Roulet 

Our  Little  Hawaiian  Cousin 
- -i  Our  Little  Indian  Cousin 

'    Our  Little  Swedish  Cousin    y 

By  Claire  M.  Coburn 

~*  Our  Little  Irish  Cousin 

"/Our  Little  Swiss  Cousin 
Our  Little  Turkish  Cousin  y 

~  *  Our  Little  Italian  Cousin 

* 

L.  C.  PAGE  &  COMPANY 
New  England  Building,                                Boston,  Mass. 

DONALD    GORDON, 


y[J 


1  Our  Little  Scotch  § 

|  Cousin  | 


* 
* 
* 

*■ 

A. 


Author  of 


By 

Blanche  McManus 

"  Our  Little   English   Cousin," 
French  Cousin,"    etc. 


Our  Little 


Illustrated  by 
The  Author 


* 


* 


Boston 
L.  C.   Page  &  Company 

MDCCCCVI 


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££4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*^ 


Copyright,  igo6 

By  L.  C.   Page  &  Company 

(incorporated) 

All  rights  reserved 


THE  LITTLE  COUSIN   SERIES 
(  Trade  Mark) 


First  Impression,  April,  1906 
Second  Impression,  November,  1906 


COLONIAL   PRESS 

Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  C.  H .  Simonds  &*  Co. 

Boston,   U.S.A. 


Preface 


To  the  thousands  of  little  American  cousins 
the  little  Scotch  cousins  send  their  greetings. 

The  Scotch,  perhaps,  are  not  so  very  differ- 
ent from  the  Americans,  after  all,  and  certainly 
there  is  so  much  in  common  between  the  Eng- 
lish, the  Americans,  and  the  Scotch  that  each 
may  be  expected  to  have  a  lively  concern  in 
the  affairs  of  the  other  ! 

Many  of  the  Scottish  legends  and  stories 
of  romance  and  history  have  an  abounding 
interest  for  Americans  of  all  ages,  and  who 
shall  say  that  Scott  and  Burns  are  not  as  great 
favourites  in  America  as  in  Scotland  itself? 
For  this  reason,  and  for  the  fact  that  thou- 
sands of  Scottish-Americans   have  never  sev- 


VI 


Prefac< 


ered  the  ties  of  sentiment  which  bind  them  to 
Bonnie  Scotland,  a  warm  welcome  is  assured 
to  our  little  Scotch  cousins  whenever  they 
may  come  to  visit  America. 

As  with  our  little  English  cousins  there  is 
the  bond  of  common  speech ;  and  Scotch 
institutions,  though  varied  and  strange  in 
many  instances,  are  in  others  very  similar  to 
those  of  America. 

Of  the  historic  and  scenic  charms  of  Scot- 
land much  has  already  been  written  in  the 
romances  and  poems  of  Scott  and  Burns,  so 
that  little  American  cousins  may  be  expected 
to  have  at  least  a  nodding  acquaintance  with 
them.  On  the  other  hand,  these  charms  are 
so  numerous  and  varied  that  American  cousins 
cannot  but  wish  that  some  day  they  may  be 
able  to  visit  the  land  of  purple  heather. 


Contents 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     The  Finding  of  "  Rob  Roy  "     .        .        .  i 

II.     School -days  and  Holidays       ...  14 

III.     A  Walk  in  Edinburgh        ....  28 
IV.     Another    Walk    in    Edinburgh    and    a 

Visit  to  Abbotsford  ....  47 

V.     The  Gathering  of  the  Clans  ...  58 

VI.     Some  Scotch  Customs         ....  74 

VII.     Summer  Holidays 83 


List   of  Illustrations 


PAGE 


Donald  Gordon     .....        Frontispiece 

A  Newhaven  Fishwife 25 

The  Highland  Piper    ......       34 

Melrose  Abbey 54 

"  •  Just  a  wee  giftie  for  the  lassie  '  "    .        .      68 
"  Our  little   Scotch   friends  were   standing 
before   the  little  house  at  ayr,  where 
Robert  Burns  was  born  "    .        .        .        .88 


Shetland    d» 

ISLANDS    /\5L 


MAP  of  SCOTLAND  ^ 

^/ace5/7?e/2^o«eo^  t/r  Ol/K  J^TTl-E.  SCOTCH  COl/J/JT 


Our    Little    Scotch    Cousin 


CHAPTER   I. 


"  Hello  !  Sandy,  what  do  you  think  I  have 
got  here  ?  "  called  Donald,  over  the  low  wall 
which  separated  his  garden  from  that  of  his 
chum.  He  was  quite  excited,  so  Sandy  knew 
that  something  out  of  the  ordinary  had  hap- 
pened, and  quickly  leaped  over  the  wall.  He 
found  Donald  carefully  holding  his  muffler, 
which  was  wriggling  about  in  the  most  extraor- 
dinary manner. 

"  What  on  earth  is  it,  —  a  rat  ?  "  asked 
Sandy,  looking  curiously  at  the  muffler,  which 
seemed  trying  to  tie  itself  up  in  a  hard  knot. 


cc 


Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 


A   rat ! "    exclaimed    Donald,    with   great 


scorn. 


Do  you  suppose,  Sandy  MacPherson,  that 
I'd  be  carrying  a  rat  around  like  this  ?  But 
you  couldn't  guess  if  you  tried  all  day ;  look 
here." 

He  carefully  undid  one  end  of  the  muffler, 
and  out  wriggled  a  little  brown  head. 

"  Did  you  ever  see  a  finer  pup  than  that  ?  " 
and  Donald,  with  great  pride,  showed  a  little 
puppy,  who  was  trying  to  chew  up  his 
fingers. 

"  My !  but  he's  a  bonnie  one ;  who  gave 
him  to  you,  Don  ? " 

"  I  found  him,"  and  Donald  went  on 
eagerly  to  tell  the  story.  "You  know  that 
lane  which  leads  to  the  widow  Calden's 
house  ?  Well,  I  came  through  there  to-day, 
thinking  I  might  catch  Andy  and  Archie 
playing  marbles.  You  know  we  thought 
they  had  been  trying  to  dodge  us  lately.     All 


The  Finding  of  "  Rob  Roy  "      3 

at  once  I  felt  something  tugging  at  my 
shoe,  and  there  was  the  pup.  I  looked 
around  for  its  mother,  but  there  was  no  sign 
of  any  other  dog  about.  The  poor,  wee  bairn 
whined,  and  was  so  glad  when  I  picked  him  up, 
I  could  not  leave  him  there  alone,  could  I  ? " 
Donald  explained,  in  self-defence.  "  You  can 
see  he  hasn't  had  his  eyes  open  very  long, 
and  he  might  have  starved  to  death ;  so  I 
wrapped  him  up  in  my  muffler,  as  he  was 
all  of  a  shiver  from  the  cold.  Then  I  ran 
to  the  widow  Calden,  but  she  did  not  know 
any  pup  like  it  in  the  neighbourhood.  The 
baker's  boy  drove  up  just  then  in  his  cart,  but 
he  did  not  know  any  one  who  had  a  dog  with 
a  young  pup,  so  I  brought  him  home." 

"  But  you  can't  keep  him,"  said  Sandy ; 
"  he  must  belong  to  some  one." 

"  Perhaps  they  wanted  to  get  rid  of  him," 
said  Donald,  hopefully.  "  I  am  going  to  show 
him  to  father,  and  he  will  know  what  to  do 


4         Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

about  it.  Perhaps  he  may  advertise  him  in 
the  paper,  and  then  if  no  one  claims  him  he 
will  belong  to  me." 

The  two  lads  ran  across  the  garden  and 
burst  into  the  sitting-room  where  Doctor 
Gordon  and  Mrs.  Gordon  were  having  after- 
noon tea. 

"  Well,  laddies/'  called  out  the  doctor,  cheer- 
fully, "  you  do  not  often  neglect  your  tea  like 
this.  Hey!  what  is  all  this  about?"  he  con- 
tinued, as  his  son  poured  out  his  story. 

"  Poor,  wee  doggie,"  said  the  doctor,  pet- 
ting the  pup,  who  licked  his  hand  and  wob- 
bled all  over  with  delight,  cc  and  a  fine  collie 
pup  he  is,  too  ;  he  comes  of  a  good  breed, 
if  I  am  not  mistaken." 

"  Oh  !  then  I  shall  have  a  fine  dog  when 
he  grows  up,  father,"  cried  Donald,  with  joy. 

"  Gently,  my  son,"  said  his  father.  cc  We 
must  find  out  his  owner  if  we  can.  A  valu- 
able puppy  like  that  will  be  missed,  and  if  we 


The  Finding  of  "  Rob  Roy "      5 

advertise  him  the  notice  will  probably  be  seen 
by  the  right  person.  We  must  also  give 
notice  at  the  police  station.'' 

"  But  if  no  one  claims  him  I  can  keep  him, 
can't  I  ?  "  pleaded  Don,  who  had  grown  dismal 
at  the  thought  that  he  might  be  deprived  of 
his  new  pet. 

"Surely,"  said  the  doctor,  "we  could  not 
refuse  to  give  him  a  good  home." 

Mrs.  Gordon  had  meanwhile  poured  out 
a  saucer  of  milk,  and,  warming  it  a  little, 
placed  it  in  front  of  doggie.  It  was  the 
funniest  thing  to  see  him.  First  he  dashed 
into  the  middle  of  the  saucer,  and  stuck  his 
little  nose  deep  in  the  milk ;  then  such  a 
sneezing  and  choking  followed.  Finally,  he 
found  that  it  tasted  good,  and  that  it  was  for 
his  mouth,  and  not  for  his  paws,  and  he 
lapped  away  in  earnest,  while  everybody  knelt 
on  the  floor  and  watched  him. 

"  He  may  stay  in  the  armchair  by  the  fire 


6         Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

until  I  can  find  a  basket  for  him  to  sleep  in," 
said  Mrs.  Gordon,  returning  to  the  tea-table. 

The  boys  were  soon  there  as  well,  for  the 
tea  at  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon  is  the 
favourite  meal  of  the  four  which  the  Scotch 
usually  eat  during  the  day. 

There  are  such  good  things  to  eat  then ! 
First,  there  is  shortbread,  a  sort  of  crisp  cake, 
made  with  a  great  deal  of  sugar  and  butter, 
and  very  little  flour,  which  melts  away  in  your 
mouth.  Then  there  are  hot  buttered  scones, 
which,  if  you  know  anything  at  all  about  Scot- 
land, you  must  have  heard  of,  for  they  are  one 
of  their  best-liked  dishes ;  and  until  you  have 
eaten  a  scone,  well-buttered,  you  will  have  no 
idea  how  good  they  are. 

Cakes,  too ;  "  layer  cake,"  with  chocolate 
between  the  layers ;  and  nice  little  round 
cakes,  fluted  around  the  edge,  —  all  children 
know  that  pattern,  —  hot  from  the  oven,  for 
Mrs.  Gordon  made  her  own  cake  and  short- 


The  Finding  of  "  Rob  Roy "     7 

bread.  Indeed,  Scotch  women  consider  it 
quite  an  accomplishment  to  make  their  own 
shortbread,  which  is  far  nicer  than  that  which 
is  bought  outside. 

Then  there  is  jam  and  preserved  ginger. 
Perhaps  you  did  not  know  that  Scotch  people 
were  very  fond  of  sweet  things.  They  are, 
indeed,  and  they  make  many  different  kinds, 
and  they  are  all  good. 

Of  course  the  talk  around  the  table  was  all 
about  the  little  puppy. 

"  Oh,  father  !  "  suddenly  said  Donald,  with 
his  mouth  full  of  shortbread,  "  I  can  train  him 
to  be  a  sheep-dog,  can't  I  ?  And  we  will  take 
care  of  the  sheep,  like  the  herds  and  collies 
that  Uncle  Alan  was  telling  us  about." 

"You  are  ambitious,  my  son,"  laughed  the 
doctor.  "  You  must  get  your  uncle  to  tell 
you  some  of  the  wonderful  feats  performed 
by  the  sheep-dogs  and  their  masters,  and  the 
difficult  work  that  they  have  to  do,  and  then 


8         Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

you  will  not  think  it  so  easy  to  turn  yourself 
and  the  little  doggie  into  shepherds:  And 
that  reminds  me  that  I  had  a  letter  from  your 
uncle  to-day,  and  he  wants  us  to  make  him 
a  visit  next  month,  in  time  for  Marjorie's 
birthday-party.  ( We  must  have  a  meeting 
of  the  Clans,'  he  says,  £  to  celebrate  the  day.'  " 

"  Oh,  how  jolly  !  "  cried  Donald,  prancing 
about  the  room,  and  waving  his  napkin. 
"  Uncle  Alan's  the  best  thing  that  ever 
lived ;  he  lets  you  do  just  what  you  want 
when  you  go  to  see  him." 

"  He  has  invited  Sandy,  also ;  but  I  must 
warn  him,"  said  the  doctor,  trying  to  look 
severe,  and  shaking  a  ringer  at  the  boys,  "  that 
you  laddies  are  not  to  do  everything  that  you 
wish,  such  as  wheedling  old  Dugald  into  let- 
ting you  carry  the  guns,  as  happened  once 
before  when  your  uncle  and  I  went  shooting." 

The  doctor's  effort  to  be  stern  did  not  last 
long,  for    Donald   nearly  choked  him    with  a 


The  Finding  of  "  Rob  Roy  "     9 

big  hug,  and  then  subsided  panting  beside 
Sandy.  Whenever  Sandy  was  very  much 
pleased  he  grew  speechless  and  shy,  but  he 
nudged  Don  with  his  elbow  and  grinned,  so 
every  one  knew  he  was  as  delighted  as  the 
more  talkative  Don. 

"  But  that  is  not  all  the  news,"  said  Mrs. 
Gordon.  "  Your  cousins  are  coming  to  make 
us  a  visit  first,  and  your  Uncle  Alan  says  we 
may  look  for  them  next  week." 

"  Hurrah  !  won't  we  have  fun  going  about 
seeing  things,"  and  Don  started  another  dance, 
for  he  was  very  fond  of  his  two  little  cousins, 
Janet  and  Marjorie  Lindsay,  and  thought 
them  far  nicer  than  most  lassies,  for  they 
could  keep  up  with  him  on  a  day's  climb 
over  the  moors,  and  play  games  almost  as 
well  as  Sandy. 

The  boys  were  soon  whispering  together 
in  a  corner,  and  planning  how  much  pleasure 
they  could  crowd   into   this   wonderful   week. 


io       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

Don  told  for  the  hundredth  time  of  the 
marvels  of  Skylemore,  his  Uncle  Alan's 
beautiful  home  in  the  Highlands. 

Uncle  Alan  Lindsay  was  a  very  wonderful 
person  to  Donald.  He  had  gone  to  America 
when  he  was  a  young  lad,  and  had  made  a 
great  fortune  in  copper  mines.  He  wanted  to 
enjoy  it  in  Scotland,  his  own  country,  how- 
ever, for  the  Scotch  are  very  clannish,  and 
like  nothing  better  than  to  be  in  their  own 
land,  and  among  their  own  people. 

So  he  came  back  to  Scotland,  and  bought 
a  fine  estate  with  a  beautiful  house,  into  which 
he  put  handsome  furniture  and  good  pictures 
and  books,  —  everything  that  could  make  a 
home  attractive.  To  Donald  it  seemed  a  pal- 
ace, and  he  did  not  think  the  king  himself  had 
anything  so  grand. 

Around  the  house  was  a  big  park,  with 
miles  of  rolling  woodland  well  stocked  with 
deer.       Here    one    could    shoot   grouse    and 


The  Finding  of  "  Rob  Roy  "    1 1 

pheasants  and  small  game  of  all  kinds.  There 
were  several  clear  streams  and  a  loch,  as  a  lake 
is  called  in  Scotland,  where  one  could  fish  for 
salmon  and  trout,  and  catch  them,  too,  if  one 
only  knew  how. 

Many  were  the  stories  that  Don  had  told 
Sandy  of  his  adventures  in  company  with  old 
Dugald,  the  gamekeeper,  who  had  taught  him 
how  to  fish ;  and  how  together  they  had 
tramped  miles  over  the  wild  moors  covered 
with  heather. 

Donald  never  tired  of  hearing  his  uncle  tell 
of  his  life  and  adventures  in  the  far-away  West- 
ern States  of  America,  which  seemed  always  to 
him  to  belong  to  another  world.  The  story 
of  how  he  had  lived  among  real  Indians,  and 
had  been  lost  in  great  snow-storms,  was  like 
a  recounting  of  adventures  of  the  olden  time 
to  the  lad. 

Donald  was  amazed,  too,  at  the  tales  of  the 
great  cities  that  his  uncle  had  seen  in  America, 


12       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

with  big  buildings  so  tall  that  they  seemed 
like  many  houses  piled  one  on  top  of  another. 
Then  again  there  were  miles  and  miles  of 
nothing  but  great  wheat-fields.  "  Why,  you 
could  drop  Scotland  down  in  the  midst  of 
them  and  it  would  be  so  small  that  you  would 
not  be  able  to  find  it  again  if  it  were  not  for 
the  mountains  sticking  up  above  the  grain," 
Uncle  Alan  would  say,  with  a  twinkle  in  his 
eye.  But  he  would  always  add  :  "  It's  a  grand 
country,  bonnie  Scotland,  if  it  is  a  wee  one, 
my  lad." 

For  many  days  after  he  had  found  the 
puppy,  Donald  would  rush  home  from  school, 
not  even  stopping  where  the  enticing  rattle 
told  him  that  a  game  of  "  boules  "  was  going 
on.  His  heart  would  be  in  his  mouth  when 
he  reached  the  gate  of  Kelvin  House,  as  the 
Gordons'  home  in  Edinburgh  was  called,  for 
he  was  afraid  that  the  doggie  would  be  gone. 
But  as  day  after  day  passed,  and  no  one  came 


The  Finding  of  "  Rob  Roy"    13 

to  say  that  they  had  lost  a  little  dog,  Donald 
breathed  easier,  and  the  little  puppy  was 
looked  upon  as  one  of  the  Gordon  family. 
Finally,  even  the  doctor  said  it  was  time  to 
give  "  doggie  "  a  name. 

The  whole  family  talked  the  matter  over 
a  long  time,  but  it  was  Don  who  finally 
decided  to  name  him  after  the  hero  of  his 
favourite  story,  "  Rob  Roy,"  written  by  the 
great  Scotch  author,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  which 
his  father  was  even  then  reading  aloud  to  him 
evenings. 

The  puppy's  name  was  in  time  shortened 
to  Rob.  He  loved  the  whole  family,  begin- 
ning with  the  doctor  and  ending  with  the 
stable-boy ;  but  he  adored  Donald,  and 
whined  most  dolefully  each  morning  when 
he  left  him,  and  barked  and  wriggled  about 
like  an  eel,  with  pleasure,  when  Donald  came 
back  again. 


CHAPTER   II. 

SCHOOL -DAYS    AND    HOLIDAYS 

"  Here  is  good  news  for  you,  laddie. 
Whom  do  you  think  we  shall  have  with  us 
for  the  New  Year  ? "  said  Doctor  Gordon, 
looking  up  from  a  letter  he  was  reading,  as 
Don  came  into  the  breakfast-room. 

"  Oh,  father ! "  cried  Donald,  trying  to 
reach  the  letter,  as  the  doctor  held  it  high 
above  his  head,  "  it's  from  Uncle  Clarke,  I 
know.  When  is  he  coming  ?  and  won't  we 
have  a  good  time  ?  "  he  said,  all  in  one  breath, 
as  he  tried  to  dance  a  Highland  fling  about 
the  room. 

"  Now,  if  you  will  sit  down  to  your  por- 
ridge, perhaps  I  can  read  it  to  you." 

"  Why  didn't  he  write  to  me,  too  ? "  asked 
14 


School-days  and  Holidays        15 

Don,  as  he  took  his  place  at  the  table,  for 
next  to  his  father  and  mother  Don  thought 
there  was  no  one  he  cared  more  for  than  this 
uncle.  He  was  a  younger  brother  of  Doctor 
Gordon's,  and  also  a  doctor.  Just  now  he 
was  in  Paris,  taking  a  special  course  at  the 
University  there,  and  he  wrote  to  tell  them 
that  he  had  been  offered  a  post  in  one  of  the 
government  stations  for  the  study  of  tropical 
diseases,  but  that  he  would  spend  some  weeks 
with  them  before  taking  up  his  new  duties. 

Don  put  down  his  spoon  in  dismay.  "  I 
wish  he  didn't  know  anything  about  nasty 
old  microbes,  if  he  is  going  way  off  there," 
he  said,  half-crying,  "  I  think  he  might  stay 
here  in  Scotland  like  you,  father." 

"  There,  there,  you  must  not  mind,  dear ; 
this  is  the  chance  your  uncle  has  always  wished 
for.  It  is  a  distinction,  too,  for  a  young  man 
like  him  to  be  offered  this  position  ;  and  when 
he  comes  to  see  us,  think  how  much  that  is 


16       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

new  and  strange  he  will  be  able  to  tell  you," 
said  Mrs.  Gordon. 

cc  All  about  lions  and  elephants  ? "  ques- 
tioned Don,  his  spirits  rising. 

"  Maybe,"  said  his  father,  laughingly ; 
"only  I  don't  know  that  he  will  hunt  big 
game  like  that  in  his  profession  ;  but  he  will 
tell  you  all  about  it  when  he  comes." 

"  And  he  will  be  here  for  c  Hogmanay  ; ' 
won't  we  have  the  fun  ?  "  said  Don,  making 
his  porridge-bowl  dance  a  jig  this  time. 

"  Hurry,  dear,  or  you  will  be  late  for 
school,"  said  his  mother,  and  Don  dived 
again  into  his  porridge,  which  American  cous- 
ins call  oatmeal. 

All  well-trained  Scotch  children  eat  porridge 
for  their  breakfast,  though  it  is  going  a  little 
out  of  fashion  these  days.  But  Don  ate  it 
each  morning,  served  in  an  old  porridge-bowl 
which  his  father  used  when  he  was  a  lad. 
Around  the  rim  of  this  rare  old  bowl  was  the 


School-days  and  Holidays        17 

inscription,  "  There's  mair  in  the  kitchen," 
"mair"  being  the  old  Scotch  word  for  more. 

You  must  know  porridge  is  a  good  thing 
to  begin  the  day  on  in  winter  in  Scotland. 
Donald  was  eating  his  breakfast  by  gaslight, 
even  though  it  was  eight  o'clock,  while  in  mid- 
winter it  does  not  grow  really  light  until  ten 
in  the  morning,  and  is  dark  again  soon  after 
three  in  the  afternoon.  In  summer,  things 
are  turned  around,  and  the  light  of  day  lingers 
well  on  into  the  night,  and  begins  again  at  an 
astonishingly  early  hour  in  the  morning.  You 
may  read  out-of-doors  very  often,  in  the  north- 
ern cities  and  towns,  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night. 
All  this  is  because  Scotland  is  so  far  north,  but 
some  day  you  will  understand  more  about  this 
strange  thing. 

There  were  other  things  for  breakfast  besides 
porridge.  Eggs  and  bacon  and  fish  and  nice 
brown  toast,  and  sometimes  toasted  cheese  on 
bread,  which  seems  a  funny  thing  to  have  for 


1 8       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

breakfast ;  and  always  plenty  of  marmalade, 
for  the  best  marmalade  is  made  in  Scotland. 

It  is  said  that  the  word  marmalade  comes 
from  the  word  "  marmalada,"  which  is  a  jam 
made  in  Portugal  from  the  quince,  which  fruit 
the  Portuguese  call  the  marmello.  The  Portu- 
guese think  it  strange  that  the  Scotch  make 
their  marmalade  from  oranges. 

"  There  is  Sandy  calling  to  you  at  the  gate," 
said  Mrs.  Gordon,  and  Don,  hastily  swallow- 
ing his  last  bit  of  toast  and  picking  up  his 
strap  full  of  school-books,  joined  him  at 
once. 

The  two  lads  ran  up  the  street  quickly,  for 
school  began  at  nine  o'clock,  and  they  were 
already  behind  their  usual  time.  At  the 
corner  Don  turned  and  waved  his  hand  to 
his  mother.  He  never  forgot  to  do  this,  for 
he  knew  that  she  was  always  waiting  there  to 
bid  him  good-bye.  Though  Donald  was  the 
only  child,  he  was  not  a  bit  spoiled ;  he  was 


School-days  and  Holidays        19 

a  warm-hearted  laddie,  and  staunch  in  his 
affections  and  friendships. 

The  schools  and  colleges  in  Scotland  are 
among  the  best  in  the  world,  and  there  is 
nothing  a  Scotsman  prizes  more,  whether  he 
be  rich  or  poor,  than  a  good  education.  Many 
a  lad  who  has  not  enough  money  will  go 
through  all  sorts  of  hardship,  and  live  on  a 
little  porridge  and  milk,  in  order  to  save 
enough  to  put  him  through  one  of  the  four 
famous  Scotch   Universities. 

All  little  American  cousins  must  have  heard 
of  the  wealthy  Scotsman,  Mr.  Carnegie,  who 
is  so  fond  of  making  presents  of  libraries  to 
the  cities  and  towns  throughout  the  English- 
speaking  world.  Well,  he  has  greatly  helped 
the  Scotch  boys  to  get  an  education  by  giving 
large  sums  of  money  to  the  Universities  of 
Scotland,  in  order  that  they  may  be  able  to 
lend  substantial  aid  to  those  entering  their 
colleges. 


20       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

"  Let's  play  c  beezee  ; '  there's  Willie  and 
Archie  now  with  the  ball,"  said  Sandy,  as  he 
and  Don  came  out  of  school  for  the  half- 
hour's  recess  at  eleven  o'clock. 

<c  Beezee "  is  a  game  which  would  remind 
American  boys  of  baseball.  The  boys  wrap 
their  mufflers  around  their  hand  and  throw 
the  ball,  which  is  an  India-rubber  one,  instead 
of  using  a  bat,  and  run  to  bases  in  much  the 
same  way  as  in  baseball. 

At  two  o'clock,  when  the  school  work  is 
over  for  the  day,  Donald  and  Sandy  lost  no 
time  in  getting  home  for  dinner,  which  was 
awaiting  them.  And  so  was  cc  Rob  Roy," 
who  soon  learned  just  what  hour  Donald 
might  be  expected,  and  rushed  to  meet  him 
the  minute  Don  opened  the  door. 

To-day,  when  Don  had  finished  his  soup, 
his  father  helped  him  to  some  of  the  "  jiggot." 
You  probably  wonder  what  that  is.  Well,  it 
is  simply  a  leg  of  mutton,  and  comes  from  the 


School-days  and  Holidays        21 

French  word  "  gigot"  You  will  find  that  the 
Scotch  use  many  words  which  must  have  come 
originally  from  the  French,  though  most  of 
them  have  been  changed  so  much  that  the  real 
French  words  wouldn't  know  them  for  cousins 
even. 

In  the  old  days  there  was  a  strong  friend- 
ship between  Scotland  and  France.  One  of 
the  early  French  kings,  Louis  XI.,  had  a 
body-guard  of  Scottish  archers  ;  for  the  Scotch 
soldiery  have  always  been  famous  for  their 
bravery.  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  was  partly 
French  herself,  and  was  the  wife  of  a  French 
king,  Francois  II.,  as  well  as  Queen  of  Scot- 
land. When  he  died  she  came  back  to 
Scotland  to  live,  and  with  her,  no  doubt, 
came  many  French  people  and  French  cus- 
toms. So  this  may  account  for  many  of 
these  French  words  in  the  Scotch  speech 
of  to-day. 

Don  called  his  napkin  a  <c  serviette,"  which 


22       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

is  just  the  same  as  in  French  ;  and  was  very 
fond  of  eating  "petticoat-tails"  at  tea-time, — 
a  name  which  you  would  never  imagine  came 
from  the  u  pe  tits-gateaux  "  of  the  French,  mean- 
ing "  little  cakes. " 

Also  he  would  get  very  "  fash,"  which 
means  angry,  —  or  "  fache"  our  little  French 
cousin  would  say,  —  if  a  boy  struck  him  a 
"  coochard's  "  blow ;  that  is,  a  cowardly  blow. 
This  word,  too,  seems  likely  enough  to  be 
French,  and  to  come  from  "coup"  meaning 
a  blow,  though  where  the  coward  comes  in, 
it  is  difficult  to  see. 

If  Donald,  while  playing  a  game,  found 
things  growing  too  hot  for  him,  and  wanted 
a  breathing-spell,  he  often  would  call  out, 
"  barley."  He  did  not  mean  that  he  wanted 
barley  at  all,  but  to  parley,  which  is  the  way 
the  Scotch  have  changed  the  French  word 
u  par  lex  "  —  speak. 

Afternoons    Donald    and    Sandy   generally 


School-days  and  Holidays       23 

spent  together,  and  very  good  times  they 
had,  too,  for  they  were  very  "  chief,"  or 
chummy.  They  played  games  with  their 
little  neighbours,  or  took  long  walks  into 
the  country,  which  could  be  easily  reached 
from  Kelvin  House.  Often  they  went  fish- 
ing. At  other  times,  Sandy's  chickens  took 
up  some  of  their  spare  hours.  Sandy  had 
an  idea  that  he  could  make  a  lot  of  money 
raising  chickens ;  so  he  talked  it  all  over 
with  his  father,  who  was  much  amused,  but 
gave  him  the  money  to  buy  his  first  chick- 
ens. Then  Sandy  himself  built  a  little  house 
for  them  in  the  back-garden,  and  fenced  off 
a  piece  of  ground  for  his  three  hens  and  one 
cock,  and  even  got  his  mother  to  subscribe  for 
a  paper  which  told  all  about  "  Poultry  for 
Beginners." 

All  Sandy  had  to  show  for  his  summer's 
work,  however,  was  one  little  "  tewky,"  which 
is  the   Scotch    cousin's    name    for    a    chicken. 


24       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

Sandy  was  very  proud  of  his  one  little 
chicken,  and  made  quite  a  pet  of  it.  It 
would  eat  out  of  his  hand,  and  even  from 
his  mouth,  and  would  go  anywhere  with 
Sandy,  perched  upon  his  shoulder. 

But  the  best  holiday  for  Donald  and  Sandy 
was  when  their  fathers  would  take  them  to  the 
beautiful  golf-links  along  the  seashore  at  Gul- 
lane,  not  far  from  Edinburgh. 

Golf  is  the  great  national  game  of  Scotland, 
and  is  played  both  by  old  folk  and  young 
people  alike.  Some  one  tells  the  story  that 
it  was  first  played  by  the  shepherds,  who 
would  take  a  small  round  stone  and  knock 
it  about  with  their  sticks,  as  they  strolled 
behind  their  flocks,  over  the  moors  and  along 
the  seashore.  All  any  one  really  knows  about 
the  game,  however,  is  that  it  has  been  played 
in  Scotland  for  a  very  long  time. 

Once,  as  a  very  great  treat,  Donald's  father 
took  him  to  play  golf  at  St.  Andrews,  where 


»H  »•». 


Blanche  ,»>\eMurw 


A    NEWHAVEN    FISHWIFE. 


School-days  and  Holidays       25 

the  links  are  so  fine  that  they  are  known  the 
world  over  as  being  the  most  famous  of  all 
these  playgrounds. 

There  is  a  saying  that  the  people  of  St. 
Andrews  do  nothing  but  play  golf,  but  this 
cannot  be  true,  as  St.  Andrews  has  one  of  the 
four  great  Scotch  Universities,  and  many  very 
great  and  wise  men  have  come  from  there ; 
and  you  don't  get  to  be  a  wise  man  by  playing 
any  kind  of  a  game  all  of  the  time. 

Another  favourite  excursion  for  Edinburgh 
children  was  to  go  to  Newhaven  for  a  fish 
dinner.  Newhaven  is  a  little  old  fishing-town 
not  far  distant,  on  the  Firth  of  Forth. 

A  Newhaven  fishwife,  or  fisherwoman,  looks 
funny  and  dumpy  in  her  short  petticoat  with 
her  dress  pinned  up  about  her  waist,  a  white 
cap  on  her  head,  and  over  all  a  big  shawl ; 
while  on  her  arm  she  carries  a  great  basket 
of  fish. 

The    fisher-folks'    cottages    are   queer   little 


26       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

houses  built  of  stone,  with  a  stairway  on  one 
side. 

You  have  already  heard  what  nice  things 
Donald  had  to  eat  at  his  afternoon  tea.  Oh  ! 
and  there  were  currant  buns,  also,  just  black 
with  currants.  After  tea  Donald  would  read, 
or,  better  still,  his  father  or  mother  would 
read  aloud  some  of  his  favourite  stories  from 
the  "  Tales  of  a  Grandfather,"  which  tell  a 
great  deal  about  Scotch  history.  Between 
eight  and  nine  o'clock  there  would  be  supper, 
of  cold  meat,  cheese,  bread  and  butter,  and 
sometimes  fish,  with  plenty  of  milk  for  Don, 
after  which  he  was  ready  for  bed. 

Little  Scotch  children  are  more  careful  how 
they  spend  their  Sundays  than  the  children 
of  most  other  nationalities.  The  Scotch  keep 
Sunday,  or  the  Sabbath,  as  it  is  usually  called, 
in  a  very  strict  manner  indeed,  though  they 
are  not  as  strict  in  these  days  as  formerly. 

When  Donald's  father  was  young  no  trains 


School-days  and  Holidays       27 

were  run  on  Sundays,  and  even  now  there  are 
no  trains  in  some  parts  of  Scotland  on  the 
Sabbath.  In  those  days  children  did  not  even 
take  a  walk  on  Sunday,  but  went  three  times 
to  "kirk,"  as  church  is  called,  But  Donald 
often  took  long  walks  with  his  father  after 
Sunday  school  in  the  afternoon.  His  father 
did  not,  however,  approve  of  their  riding  in 
street-cars,  which  in  the  great  cities  have  only 
recently  begun  to  run  on  Sundays,  and  many 
people  even  now  will  not  make  use  of  them  on 
that  day. 


CHAPTER   III. 

A    WALK    IN    EDINBURGH 

Janet  and  Marjorie  had  arrived  in  Edin- 
burgh, and  one  of  the  first  of  the  pleasures 
was  a  walk  around  the  city  to  see  the  sights, 
as  Don  expressed  it. 

cc  I  know  those  lads  will  keep  us  waiting," 
said  Janet,  as  she  pinned  on  her  tam-o'-shanter, 

"  I  think  I  know  where  they  are ;  around 
the  corner  playing  c  boules,'  "  answered  Mar- 
jorie, as  she  stood  before  the  mirror,  carefully 
tying  her  neck-ribbon.  Marjorie  was  rather 
fond  of  getting  herself  up  as  nicely  as  possible. 
She  must  place  her  tarn  at  just  the  right  jaunty 
angle  on  her  curly  yellow  hair ;  her  ribbons 
must  be  made  into  just  the  proper  bows  ;  her 

tall  boots  neatly  laced ;  her  gloves  and  muff 

28 


A  Walk  in   Edinburgh  29 

were  always  in  the  right  place,  and  she  liked 
to  have  a  little  posy  pinned  on  to  her  jacket. 
The  boys  teased  her,  and  called  her  the  cc  La- 
dies' Fashion  Page,"  but  you  know  what  boys 
are,  and  after  all  her  little  vanities  were  quite 
harmless. 

Janet  was  quite  her  opposite.  She  dashed 
on  her  tarn  without  ever  stopping  to  look  in 
the  mirror.  Her  gloves  were  more  often 
rolled  up  in  her  pocket  than  on  her  hands ; 
she  never  could  be  made  to  see  why  one 
colour  of  ribbon  was  not  as  good  as  another, 
and  always  wondered  why  Marjorie  made  such 
a  fuss  over  her  curls  and  bows.  But  in  spite 
of  the  difference  in  the  two  girls  they  were 
devoted  chums,  and  never  quite  happy  unless 
they  were  together. 

Janet  now  stood  looking  at  her  sister  impa- 
tiently. "  Marjorie,"  she  said,  "  how  many 
times  are  you  going  to  tie  that  bow ;  we  must 
hurry  up  Don  and  Sandy." 


30       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

"  Now  I  am  ready,  c  Miss  Flurry/ "  said 
Marjorie,  with  a  final  pat  to  her  bow,  and  the 
two  little  girls  ran  together  into  the  garden. 

"  Here  they  are,"  said  Marjorie,  as  she 
opened  a  little  gate  which  led  into  a  lane 
back  of  the  house,  where  Donald  and  Sandy 
were  playing  "  boules." 

Boules  and  the  button-game,  where  buttons 
are  thrown  toward  a  hole  scooped  out  in  the 
ground  next  a  wall  or  a  fence,  in  much  the 
same  manner  that  American  boys  and  girls 
play  marbles,  are  favourite  games  with  Scotch 
children.  Various  sorts  of  buttons  are  used, 
each  sort  having  a  different  value.  A  button 
from  a  soldier's  coat  is  worth  ten  times  as 
much  as  an  ordinary  button,  and  a  coloured 
button  more  than  a  plain  white  one.  So  you 
see  that  loose  buttons  are  very  valuable  prop- 
erty with  a  Scotch  boy.  Generally  he  goes 
around  with  his  pockets  full  of  them,  and 
trades    them    off    among    his    playmates    for 


A  Walk  in   Edinburgh  31 

others  that  he  fancies  more ;  and  one  of  the 
most  acceptable  gifts  which  a  boy's  mother  or 
sister  or  aunt  can  give  him  is  a  long  string  of 
buttons. 

"  I  can  do  that,"  declared  Marjorie,  as  she 
watched  Sandy  make  several  successful  shots. 

"  Lassies  never  throw  straight/'  said  Sandy, 
scornfully,  flipping  another  button  toward  the 
hole. 

"  Marjorie  can,"  said  Donald,  standing  up 
for  his  favourite  cousin ;  "  let  her  try." 

"  Where  are  those  children  ? "  the  doctor  was 
heard  calling,  and  the  young  people  forgot  all 
about  games,  and  made  a  rush  for  the  house. 

It  was  the  Saturday  holiday,  and  Doctor 
Gordon  had  promised  to  take  them  for  a  walk 
through  the  old  town  of  Edinburgh.  The 
doctor  enjoyed  these  walks  as  much  as  the 
children,  for  he  was  very  fond  of  his  city,  and 
took  a  deep  interest  in  its  old  buildings  and 
the  famous  people  who  had  lived  in  them. 


32       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

The  doctor,  moreover,  had  written,  in  his 
spare  moments,  a  valuable  book  on  Edin- 
burgh, and  there  was  nothing  that  Donald 
enjoyed  more  than  to  spend  his  holidays 
tramping  with  his  father  through  old  and 
new  Edinburgh.  Edinburgh,  you  must  know, 
was  the  capital  of  Scotland  in  the  old  days, 
and  virtually  is  so  to-day,  and  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  cities  in  the  world. 

Donald  knew  most  of  the  cc  sights  "  of  the 
town  as  well  as  the  doctor  himself,  but  to  the 
lassies  all  these  marvels  were  much  more  of 
a  novelty. 

It  was  a  gay  little  party  that  got  off  an 
electric  car  (the  Scotch  call  it  "  electric/'  as 
do  the  Americans,  and  not  a  "  tram,"  as  do 
their  English  cousins  just  over  the  border), 
Doctor  Gordon  leading  the  way,  with  a  niece 
on  either  side  of  him,  and  the  boys  walking 
before. 

"  Let  us  go  to  the  castle  first,"  said  Don, 


A  Walk  in  Edinburgh  33 

who  rather  thought  that  he  ought  to  help  his 
father  do  the  honours. 

"  I  don't  believe  Marjorie  and  Janet  have 
ever  seen  it  really  well.  You  know,  father, 
you  always  tell  me  something  new  about  it 
every  time  we  go  there,"  said  Donald, 
eagerly. 

So  they  crossed  Princes  Street  Gardens, 
which  divide  Edinburgh  into  the  "  Old 
Town  "  and  the  "  New  Town."  The  "  Old 
Town  "  is  on  a  high  hill,  and  on  the  highest 
part  of  all  is  Edinburgh  Castle.  It  was  not 
long  before  our  party  found  themselves  before 
its  grand  old  walls. 

"  Don,  there  is  your  favourite  Highland 
Regiment  coming  out  of  the  castle  now," 
said  the  doctor. 

"  Oh  !  they  are  going  to  drill ;  can't  we 
stay  and  watch  them  awhile  ? "  cried  all  the 
children,  as  with   one  voice. 

I  know  that  American  children  would  think 


34       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

the  Scotch  regiments  the  most  picturesque  sol- 
diers in  the  world,  in  their  old-time  Highland 
costume.  Here  is  a  picture  of  the  piper,  play- 
ing on  the  Scotch  bagpipes,  so  you  can  see  for 
yourself  what  a  wonderful  uniform  it  is. 

His  kilt  and  stockings  are  made  of  the 
tartan  which  shows  the  Clan  to  which  he  be- 
longs. In  the  olden  time,  each  one  of  the 
great  families  of  Scotland  banded  itself  to- 
gether, with  its  followers,  into  a  Clan  for 
protection,  and  thus  each  Clan  was  really  a 
little  kingdom  and  army  in  itself. 

The  piper's  plaid,  which  is  a  sort  of  shawl, 
is  pinned  on  his  shoulder  with  a  great  silver 
brooch.  In  this  brooch  is  set  a  "cairngorm" 
stone,  which  is  the  yellow  stone  called  a  topaz  ; 
the  national  stone  of  Scotland,  one  might  call 
it,  as  it  is  found  there  in  great  quantities. 

That  funny-looking  bag  which  hangs  in 
front  of  him  is  called  a  "  sporran,"  and  by 
his  side  is  a  short  sword  called  a  "  claymore," 


THE    HIGHLAND    PIPER. 


A  Walk  in   Edinburgh  35 

and  in  the  olden  time  there  was  thrust  into 
the  stocking  a  dagger  called  a  "  skean-dhu." 
Would  you  not  think  he  would  be  cold,  with 
his  knees  bared  to  the  cold  east  wind  which 
blows  over  the  castle  high  up  on  its  rock  ? 
But  no  such  thing  ever  enters  his  head,  for 
Scotch  children  from  infancy  are  used  to  going 
about  with  bare  knees,  winter  and  summer 
alike. 

"  Isn't  the  piper  splendid,  father  ? "  said 
Donald,  as  the  squad  marched  by.  "  I 
should  like  to  be  a  piper  in  the  Gordon 
Highlanders,  for  that  is  our  regiment ;  and 
their  uniform,  white  with  the  Gordon  tartan, 
is  the  handsomest  of  all,"  and  Donald  tossed 
his  head  with  quite  an  air  of  pride. 

"  It's  just  because  you  are  a  Gordon  that 
you  think  so,"  grumbled  Sandy.  "  What's  the 
matter  with  the  MacPhersons  ?  " 

"  That's  right,  laddies,  stand  up  for  your 
own    Clans,"   said   the   doctor.     "  You  would 


36       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

be  a  very  important  man  in  the  regiment  if 
you  were  the  piper/'  he  continued.  "  When 
the  regiment  makes  a  charge  on  the  battle- 
field it  is  the  piper  who  marches  in  front 
playing  the  national  Scottish  airs  on  his  pipes. 
Nothing  inspires  the  men  so  much.  The 
Scotch  regiments  are  the  bravest  of  soldiers, 
and  their  records  are  among  the  best  in  the 
world." 

"You  remember  that  story  father  told  us, 
Marjorie,"  said  Janet,  "  of  the  brave  piper 
who  was  shot  in  one  leg,  and  who  kept  on 
playing  and  marching  until  he  was  shot  in  the 
other,  so  that  he  could  not  move  either;  and 
then  kept  on  playing  just  the  same  seated  on 
the  ground,  with  shot  and  shell  falling  all 
around  him,  until  his  regiment  drove  back 
the  enemy.  He  was  a  brave  man,"  con- 
tinued Janet,  and  tears  came  into  the  little 
girl's  eyes. 

"  He  was  indeed  a  brave    man,  and    there 


A  Walk  in   Edinburgh  37 

are  many  like  him,"  said  her  uncle,  cc  but  we 
must  go  on  if  we  are  to  do  everything  which 
we  have  planned  for  to-day,"  and  he  led  the 
way  into  the  old  castle,  with  its  massive  walls 
and  dark,  winding  passages. 

Our  party  viewed  the  Crown  jewels  of 
Scotland,  not  so  many  nor  so  magnificent  as 
those  of  England,  but  more  interesting,  per- 
haps, for  many  of  the  pieces  are  much  older. 

The  little  girls  were  much  interested  in  the 
crown  of  Robert  Bruce,  who  was  one  of  the 
greatest  of  Scotch  kings. 

"  We  have  just  finished  reading  c  The  Days 
of  Bruce,' "  said  Janet,  "  and  that,  you  know, 
tells  all  about  the  Scottish  king,  Robert  Bruce, 
and  his  little  band  of  Scotch  patriots,  who, 
after  great  hardships  and  sufferings,  finally 
drove  the  English  invaders  out  of  Scotland." 

"  They  did  have  a  hard  time,"  chimed  in 
Marjorie,  "  but  still  it  must  have  been  fun, 
living  in  caves  and  fixing  them  up  with  beau- 


38       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

tiful  mosses  and  flowers,  and  having  brave 
knights  in  splendid  armour  sing  songs  to 
you."  Marjorie  was  of  rather  a  romantic 
turn  of  mind. 

"  I'd  rather  read  about  the  battles,  and  how 
they  captured  the  standards  from  the  enemy," 
said  Sandy. 

"  I  like  the  c  Scottish  Chiefs  '  better,"  Don 
put  in,  "  all  about  Wallace,  who  died  so  glo- 
riously for  his  country." 

They  saw  the  tiny  room,  not  much  larger 
than  a  cupboard,  where  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots, 
lived,  and  where  her  son,  James  VI.  of  Scot- 
land, was  born.  It  was  James  VI.  of  Scotland 
who  afterward  became  James  I.  of  England, 
and  thus,  for  the  first  time,  Scotland  and  Eng- 
land were  united  under  one  crown.  Later  the 
two  countries  were  called  The  United  King- 
dom of  Great  Britain,  and  thus  they  have 
remained  ever  since. 

However,  in  manners  and  customs,  and  in 


A  Walk  in   Edinburgh  39 

many  details  of  their  daily  life,  the  peoples  of 
the  two  nations  are  still  very  different.  A 
Scotsman  is  very  proud  of  being  a  Scotsman, 
and  he  does  not  like  it  a  bit  if  you  call  him  an 
Englishman. 

Donald  always  took  great  pains  to  explain 
to  his  young  English  cousins,  when  they  came 
to  visit  him,  that  Scotland  had  given  a  king  to 
England,  instead  of  England  sending  a  king 
to  rule  over  the  Scotch. 

"  King  Edward  is  Edward  VII.  of  England, 
but  he  is  Edward  I.  of  Scotland,  because  we 
never  had  another  king  by  the  name  of  Edward 
before  him ;  is  it  not  so,  father  ? "  asked 
Donald,  earnestly. 

"  All  the  same,  I  don't  know  any  one  who 
cheered  louder  than  you,  Don,"  said  Sandy, 
"  when  King  Edward  came  here  to  review  the 
Scottish  Volunteers  last  autumn." 

"  Of  course,  he  is  our  king,  and  I  like  him 
very  much,"  said   Don,  with  dignity ;    which 


40       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

made  them  all  laugh,  and  Janet  said  King 
Edward  would  feel  complimented. 

The  doctor  showed  them  where  they  could 
look  over  the  parapet,  and  see  how  steep  and 
straight  was  the  wall  of  rock  on  which  the 
castle  stood ;  and  pointed  out  the  very  steep- 
est side,  where  he  and  his  brother  Clarke  once 
climbed  up  the  rock  from  the  bottom  to  the 
top,  when  they  were  boys.  "  And  a  stiff  climb 
it  was,  my  lads,"  continued  the  doctor ;  "  you 
need  not  be  putting  your  heads  together,  and 
planning  to  do  the  same.  It  was  a  foolhardy 
thing  to  have  done." 

The  children  were  always  greatly  interested 
in  the  "  Dogs'  Cemetery,"  where  are  buried 
all  the  dogs  of  the  regiment,  and  each  time 
they  came  to  the  castle  they  always  looked 
to  see  if  there  was  another  little  grave, 
though,  as  Doctor  Gordon  said,  they  could 
not  expect  dogs  to  die  off  so  quickly  as  all 
that. 


A  Walk  in   Edinburgh  41 

"  Where  are  we  going  now,  uncle  ?  "  said 
Janet,  slipping  her  hand  into  the  doctor's. 

"  How  would  you  like  to  see  Holyrood 
Palace,  where  Queen  Mary  lived  ?  "  he  asked, 
as  he  led  the  little  band  down  the  Cannon- 
gate,  the  old  winding  street  which  leads  down 
the  hill  from  the  castle,  through  the  heart 
of  the  old  town,  to  Holyrood  Palace. 

"  Great  things  have  happened  on  this  narrow 
street,  and  many  great  people  of  Scotland  have 
lived  here,"  said  the  doctor,  pointing  to  the 
tall  old  buildings,  so  close  together  that  hardly 
any  daylight  gets  between  them,  set  back,  as 
they  are,  in  narrow  courtyards  and  alleyways 
called  "closes"  and  "wynds."  On  one  side 
is  the  house  where  John  Knox,  the  great 
religious  reformer,  lived. 

"  Do  you  see  a  heart  carved  on  that  stone 
yonder  ?  "  said  Doctor  Gordon,  as  he  pointed 
out  a  stone  in  the  pavement.  "  That  marks  the 
spot  where  once  stood  the  old  c  Tolbooth.' ' 


42       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

"Of  which  Sir  Walter  Scott  wrote  in  c  The 
Heart  of  Midlothian/  "  broke  in  Donald, 
anxious  to  show  his  knowledge.  "  Father 
has  read  several  of  Scott's  novels  to  me ; 
they  are  splendid  stories,  —  all  about  the 
old  days  in  Scotland." 

"  And  of  other  countries  as  well,  Donald," 
said  his  father. 

"  When  you  children  are  older,  you  will 
enjoy  reading  for  yourselves  Sir  Walter  Scott's 
c  Waverley  Novels.'  Scott  was  a  splendid 
story-teller,  and  his  books  are  famous  and 
read  the  world  over.  And  this  reminds  me," 
continued  the  good-natured  doctor,  "  that  per- 
haps you  young  people  would  like  to  see 
Abbotsford,  where  the  great  Scotch  author 
lived ;  and  Melrose  Abbey,  which  he  loved 
so  well." 

"  No  need  to  ask,"  he  laughed,  as  the  chil- 
dren gathered  about  him,  with  delighted  oh's 
and  ah's  ! 


A  Walk  in  Edinburgh  43 

"  Well,  I  had  half-promised  Don  that  I 
would  take  him  there  this  autumn.  Perhaps 
we  can  persuade  your  father  and  mother  to 
spare  you  girls  another  week,  and  we  will  all 
go  together.  Eh !  what  do  you  think  ? " 
and  the  doctor  playfully  pulled  Marjorie's 
tarn. 

The  children  were  so  excited  over  this  that 
they  were  in  front  of  Holyrood  Palace  before 
they  knew  it. 

Of  course,  the  first  part  they  visited  were 
the  rooms  where  once  lived  the  beautiful 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  who  was  beheaded 
by  the  order  of  her  cousin  Elizabeth,  then 
Queen  of  England. 

Queen  Mary  had  many  faults,  no  doubt ; 
but  surely  she  did  not  merit  such  a  cruel 
death. 

"  Isn't  it  strange  what  wee  bits  of  rooms 
kings  and  queens  lived  in  ?  Why,  this  bed- 
room  is   not   nearly  so   large  as  our  room  at 


44       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

home,  and  the  little  room  out  of  it,  which  she 
used  as  a  sitting-room,  is  hardly  large  enough 
for  a  doll,"  said  Marjorie. 

For  a  fact,  they  did  seem  small  for  a  great 
queen.  There  was  the  very  bed  she  had  slept 
on  and  other  furniture  of  her  time.  The  chil- 
dren peered  down  the  narrow  stairs  up  which 
had  stolen  the  murderers  of  poor  Rizzio,  the 
queen's  faithful  friend. 

"  I  should  not  have  liked  to  have  lived  in 
Queen  Mary's  time,"  said  Janet,  shaking  her 
head,  and  the  little  girls  shuddered  when  the 
guide  pointed  out  what  are  said  to  be  the 
blood-stains  of  Rizzio. 

The  girls  would  not  go  near  the  place,  but 
Don  and  Sandy  went  boldly  up,  and  declared 
that  they  saw  the  stains ;  but  it  is  just  possible 
that  their  imaginations  helped  them  out  a  little, 
for  it  was  many  hundreds  of  years  ago  that  all 
this  happened,  and,  besides,  it  is  too  dark  in 
that  particular  corner  behind  the  door  to  see 


A  Walk  in   Edinburgh  45 

anything.  Some  day  when  you  are  older  you 
will  read  about  Queen  Mary  and  her  sad 
fate. 

Afterward  the  little  party  went  into  the 
great  hall  of  the  palace,  where  are  hung  the 
portraits  of  all  the  Scottish  kings.  They  all 
look  alike,  having  been  painted  by  some  bold 
artist  from  imagination  ;  which  seems  a  strange 
thing  to  have  done,  does  it  not  ?  Don  said  he 
could  paint  as  good  pictures  himself. 

Again  Doctor  Gordon  led  his  little  tourists 
up  through  the  "  old  town,"  and  this  time 
they  saw  the  great  school  of  medicine  of  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  where  Donald's 
father  and  uncle  had  taken  their  degrees  to 
become  Doctors  of  Medicine. 

This  great  school  stands  higher  in  rank, 
perhaps,  than  any  other  similar  school  in  the 
world,  and  many  distinguished  men  have  grad- 
uated from  it. 

"  I  am  going  to  study  there,  too,  some  day, 


46       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

like  father  and  Uncle  Clarke,  and  be  a  great 
doctor,"   said  Don. 

"  I  thought  you  were  going  to  be  a  piper 
a  little  while  ago,"  laughed  Sandy.  "And  it 
was  a  c  herd '  you  were  going  to  be  just  the 
other  day,"  echoed   Marjorie. 

"  I  don't  care,"  retorted  Don,  stoutly,  "  I 
am  going  to  do  something  great,  anyway." 

"  That's  the  right  spirit,  my  son ;  whatever 
you  do,  do  it  well,"  said  his  father,  patting  him 
on  the  shoulder.  The  children  laughed,  but 
his  father  was  very  pleased. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

ANOTHER    WALK     IN     EDINBURGH    AND    A    VISIT 
TO    ABBOTSFORD 

"  The  lassies  are  going  with  me  to  do  a 
bit  of  shopping  in  Princes  Street,"  said  Mrs. 
Gordon,  as  they  all  sat  around  the  breakfast- 
table  one  morning. 

"  We  want  to  buy  a  present  for  mother's 
birthday  while  we  are  here.  It  is  week  after 
next,  you  know,"  said  Janet. 

"  I  don't  suppose  you  want  to  go  with  us, 
Don ;  lads  don't  like  to  buy  things,"  she 
added,  with  a  twinkle  in  her  eye. 

"  Oh  !  Well,  if  you  are  only  going  after 
trinkets,  I  wouldn't  give  a  s  bawbee  '  for  that 
kind  of  fun.  Now,  if  you  were  really  going 
to  see  things,  that  might  be  different,"  said 
Donald,  eagerly. 

47 


48       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

"You  have  not  seen  the  c  Dog's  Monu- 
ment/ and  lots  of  things  yet,"  he  continued, 
thinking  it  a  little  beneath  his  dignity  to  go 
shopping,  but  in  his  heart  really  wishing  to 
go,  if  only  he  were  begged  hard  enough. 

"  No  one  can  tell  the  story  of  the  faithful 
dog  better  than  Don,  so  you  lassies  ought  to 
get  him  to  show  you  his  grave  and  that  of 
his  master,"  said  the  doctor,  who  saw  Don's 
trouble,  and  was  ready  to  help  him  out. 

Of  course  this  made  the  little  girls  wild 
to  hear  all  about  it,  so  Don  had  to  promise 
to  go  with  them  and  show  them  the  spot. 

It  did  not  take  long  to  reach  Princes  Street, 
which  the  Scotch  people  think  the  finest  street 
in  the  world.  It  is  a  splendid  broad  thorough- 
fare ;  on  one  side  are  the  beautiful cc  Gardens," 
with  flowers,  statues,  and  walks,  while  rising 
high  above  is  the  old  castle  on  its  height.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  street  are  the  great  shops 
and    hotels.       The    shops    are   full   of  pretty 


A  Visit  to  Abbotsford  49 

Scotch  things.  There  you  may  see  all  the 
different  kinds  of  "  Clan  "  tartans,  and  there 
are  a  great  many  of  them.  There  also  are 
heaps  of  "  cairngorms  "  and  purple  amethysts, 
which  is  another  precious  stone  found  in  Scot- 
land, and  is  almost  as  much  of  a  favourite  as 
the  "  cairngorms. "  Both  of  these  stones  were 
much  used  to  ornament  the  ancient  Scotch 
swords  and  daggers,  and  were  often  set  into 
brooches  used  to  fasten  the  tartans,  as  you  see 
in  the  piper's  picture. 

The  jewellers  now  make  them  up  into  all 
kinds  of  souvenirs  of  Scotland ;  little  clay- 
mores and  daggers  for  pins,  and  copies  of 
old-time  brooches,  and  all  kinds  of  quaint 
things. 

"Well,  dearies,  what  do  you  think  your 
mother  would  like  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Gordon, 
as  they  passed  by  the  gay  shops. 

There  were  so  many  beautiful  things  to 
choose  from  it  was  difficult  for  the  little  girls 


50       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

to  make  up  their  minds.  At  last  Mrs'. 
Gordon  said  a  brooch  would  make  a  pretty- 
present,  which  pleased  Marjorie,  who  was  so 
fond  of  pretty  things  to  wear. 

Janet  was  in  favour  of  a  gold  pen.  So  at 
last  it  was  agreed  that  Marjorie  should  buy 
the  brooch  with  an  amethyst  set  in  it,  and 
Janet  should  get  a  pretty  pen  with  a  cairn- 
gorm set  in  the  handle.  Don  by  this  time 
was  as  much  interested  in  <c  shopping  "  as  the 
girls,  and  bought  a  pretty  blotter,  with  the 
handle  made  of  Scotch  pebbles,  for  his  aunt. 
So  everybody  was  highly  pleased,  and  most 
of  all  was  Mrs.  Lindsay,  when  she  received 
her  presents. 

After  this,  Mrs.  Gordon  bought  them  all 
some  "  Edinburgh  Rock,"  which  is  a  nice, 
creamy  candy,  that  isn't  a  bit  like  a  rock,  but 
which  just  melts  in  one's  mouth. 

Then  they  all  climbed  to  the  top  of 
the    Scott  Monument,    which    stands    in    the 


A  Visit  to  Abbotsford  51 

Princes  Street  Gardens,  from  which  place  they 
had  a  fine  view  of  the  beautiful  city  of  Edin- 
burgh. 

Don  now  led  the  way  to  the  memorial  which 
was  put  up  to  the  faithful  little  dog  called 
"  Grey  Friars  Bobby. "  "  This  is  his  story/' 
said  Don:  "When  his  master  died,  and  was 
buried  in  Grey  Friars  churchyard,  the  poor 
little  dog  was  so  broken-hearted  that  for  twelve 
years  he  never  left  his  master's  grave  except  at 
night,  when  the  caretaker  of  the  cemetery  took 
him  into  his  house  and  fed  him.  As  soon  as 
the  door  was  opened  each  morning,  he  would 
run  to  his  master's  grave  and  stay  there  until 
he  was  taken  in  again  at  night.  One  day  the 
caretaker  went  for  him  as  usual,  and  found  him 
lying  dead,  stretched  across  the  grave.  He  was 
buried  in  the  same  grave  with  his  master,  to 
whom  he  had  been  so  faithful." 

The  monument,  in  the  street  without,  is  in 
the  form  of  a  drinking-fountain,  with  a  statue 


52       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

of  the  little  dog  on  the  top.  It  was  put  up  so 
that  the  story  might  not  be  forgotten. 

Don  pointed  out  the  grave  to  the  little  girls, 
through  the  railing  of  the  churchyard,  and  then 
Mrs.  Gordon  said  they  must  hurry  home,  for 
it  was  late,  and  the  doctor  would  think  they 
were  lost. 

Janet  and  Marjorie  had  received  permission 
to  remain  away  from  home  another  week  for 
the  visit  to  Abbotsford,  Sir  Walter  Scott's  old 
home,  so  one  day  soon  after  the  young  people 
boarded  the  train  bound  for  Abbotsford. 

"  We  are  now  not  far  from  the  English 
boundary-line,  or  c  Border/  as  the  Scotch  call 
it,"  said  Doctor  Gordon,  as  they  approached 
Melrose,  the  station  at  which  they  were  to 
alight. 

This  "  Border  "  land  was  the  scene  of  count- 
less fights  and  feuds  between  the  Scotch  and 
English  in  the  old  days  when  the  two  nations 
were  enemies.    The  English  would  dash  across 


A  Visit  to  Abbotsford  53 

the  Border,  seize  the  sheep  and  cattle  belong- 
ing to  the  Scotch,  burn  their  homes,  and  then 
quickly  escape  to  their  own  territory. 

Then  the  Scotch  would  take  a  turn  at  the 
same  game,  and  so  it  went  on  for  ages.  Be- 
cause of  this  warfare  the  Border  had  to  be 
strongly  fortified  on  each  side,  and  many 
ruins  of  these  old  castles  and  watch-towers 
are  yet  to  be  seen  in  these  parts. 

Much  has  been  written  by  Scottish  authors 
and  poets  about  the  daring  deeds  of  the  Border 
Clans  of  that  time. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  could  claim  relationship 
with  most  of  the  Border  Clans,  and  was  very 
proud  of  it,  and  many  of  the  most  romantic 
tales  and  daring  deeds  of  which  he  has  written 
dealt  with  these  same  Clansmen. 

"  This  is  Melrose,  now,"  said  the  doctor, 
looking  out  of  the  window. 

So  it  was,  and  the  young  people  lost  no 
time  in  gathering  up  their  belongings,  and  in 


54       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

a  few  minutes  they  were  standing  before  Mel- 
rose Abbey. 

Formerly  this  famous  abbey  was  a  large 
establishment  where  lived  many  monks,  pre- 
sided over  by  an  abbot.  What  one  sees  at 
Melrose  to-day,  however,  is  only  the  church 
of  the  great  institution.  The  rest  of  the  build- 
ings have  disappeared  with  time,  for  it  is  over 
five  hundred  years  since  the  last  of  its  stones 
were  laid. 

The  caretaker  unlocked  a  small  door,  and 
they  entered  what  centuries  before  had  been 
the  beautiful  abbey  church,  but  was  now  a 
ruin,  though  still  so  beautiful  as  to  be  the 
marvel  of  all  who  see  it.  It  was  here  that 
Sir  Walter  often  came,  and  Doctor  Gordon 
showed  the  children  the  stone  which  was  the 
great  man's  favourite  seat. 

After  a  walk  through  the  old  churchyard, 
they  strolled  around  the  little  town  of  Mel- 
rose.    In  the  High  Street  stands  a  very  old 


I  fit 

if  §!;§§    1 


MELROSE    ABBEY 


A  Visit  to  Abbotsford  55 

memorial  cross.  Many  of  the  old  Scottish 
towns  (and  English  ones,  too,  for  that  matter) 
have  these  old  stone  crosses,  usually  set  in  the 
middle  of  the  main  street,  or  in  the  public 
square. 

After  eating  their  dinner  at  one  of  the  old- 
fashioned  inns  of  the  town,  Doctor  Gordon 
stowed  his  small  tourists  away  in  a  carriage, 
and  off  they  went  for  Abbotsford,  chattering 
most  gaily ;  for  while  the  Scotch  people  are 
often  very  shy  and  quiet  among  strangers, 
they  are  as  lively  as  possible  among  them- 
selves. 

"  Over  there,  not  far  away,  is  Kelso,"  said 
Doctor  Gordon,  pointing  over  the  rolling  hills. 
"  It  has  been  called  the  most  beautiful  town  in 
Scotland,  but  you  know  we  Scots  all  think  our 
own  town  the  handsomest.  Eh,  lassies  ? " 
laughed  the  doctor. 

"There  is  Abbotsford  now,"  said  Mrs. 
Gordon,  and   the   children   looked   eagerly  at 


56       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

the  big  stone  house  and  the  "  silvery  Tweed  " 
which  flows  by  its  gardens  and  lawns. 

The  place  is  still  the  property  of  a  member 
of  the  Scott  family. 

Our  little  party  were  shown  many  of  the 
rooms  where  the  great  author  lived  and  wrote, 
and  they  also  saw  many  curious  and  beautiful 
things,  for  Sir  Walter  loved  to  collect  relics  of 
his  country.  Don  was  greatly  interested  in  the 
sword  and  other  belongings  of  the  real  Rob 
Roy,  and  the  picture  of  Scott's  favourite  dog, 
for  he  was  a  great  lover  of  dogs. 

But  time  was  short,  and  so  our  travellers 
had  to  hurry  away,  for  they  were  to  take  a 
drive  to  Dryburgh  Abbey,  situated  a  few  miles 
away. 

This  is  another  old  ruined  abbey.  It  is 
here  that  Sir  Walter  Scott  is  buried.  There 
are  only  a  few  walls  of  the  abbey  still  standing, 
and  where  the  old  abbey  church  formerly  stood 
is  now  a  garden  set  about  with  walks  and  trees. 


A  Visit  to  Abbotsford  57 

In  one  of  the  ruined  aisles  of  the  church  which 
stands  in  one  corner  of  this  garden  can  be  seen 
the  tomb  of  Scott  and  the  other  members  of 
his  family. 

The  children  went  back  to  Edinburgh  tired, 
but  happy,  after  a  day  which  they  will  never 
forget. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE    GATHERING    OF    THE    CLANS 

There  was  a  great  bustle  and  running  about 
at  the  Gordon  house  one  morning.  Doctor 
and  Mrs.  Gordon,  Don,  and  Sandy  were  leav- 
ing for  their  visit  to  Skylemore,  Uncle  Alan's 
home  in  the  Highlands. 

Don  was  torn  between  the  delight  of  going, 

and  the  sorrow  at  having  to  leave  "  Rob  Roy  " 

behind.     He  had  begged  to  be  allowed  to  take 

him,  but  it  was  decided  that  "  Rob  "  was  too 

young  to  travel,  and  Sandy's  mother  promised 

to  take  care  of  him.     So  that  the  only  thing 

that  marred  Don's  pleasure  was  the  last  look 

of  cc  doggie,"  whining  sadly  in  Mrs.  MacPher- 

son's  arms,  as  the  carriage  drove  away. 

But  even  "  Rob  Roy  "  was  forgotten  for  the 
58 


The  Gathering  of  the  Clans     59 

moment,  when  they  all  stood  on  the  platform 
of  the  great  Waverley  Station.  There  were 
crowds  of  people  about,  all  bound  for  the 
country.  Hunting  parties,  with  their  guns 
and  dogs,  were  everywhere;  for  the  autumn 
is  the  season  for  shooting  grouse  over  the 
Scotch  moors.  Everybody  was  greatly  ex- 
cited, the  dogs  as  much  as  anybody.  Sandy 
said  that  they  seemed  to  know  that  they  were 
going  off  for  a  good  time,  too. 

"  Take  your  places,  children,"  said  the 
doctor,  as  he  bundled  them  into  their  com- 
partment in  the  train. 

It  was  a  fine  autumn  day,  and  there  are  not 
too  many  such  days  in  Scotland  ;  for  it  is  a 
rainy  little  country,  and  hardly  a  day  passes 
without  some  rain  falling.  Not  heavy  rains, 
as  in  our  country,  but  a  soft,  misty  driz- 
zle which  nobody  seems  to  mind  in  the  least. 
There  would  be  no  use  in  staying  indoors,  for 
this  is  the  way  it  is  most  of  the  time.     Besides, 


60       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

Scotch  people  dress  for  bad  weather.  They 
are  fond  of  having  their  clothes  made  of  the 
thick  tweed  and  cheviot  cloths,  which,  as 
their  names  show,  are  made  in  Scotland,  for 
the  Tweed  is  a  Scotch  river,  and  the  Cheviot 
Hills  are  on  the  border  between  England  and 
Scotland. 

Donald  and  Sandy  wore  jackets  made  of 
the  celebrated  "  Harris  tweeds,"  which  have 
a  queer  smoky  smell  which  comes  from  their 
being  made  in  the  crofters'  cottages  on  the 
island  of  Harris,  off  the  north  coast  of  Scot- 
land. The  "  crofters  "  are  those  who  live  in 
tiny  houses  built  of  rough  stone,  and  their 
principal  occupation  and  industry  is  the  weav- 
ing of  this  coarse  cloth,  from  wool,  by  hand, 
as  they  sit  before  their  peat  fires.  For  this 
reason  the  genuine  Harris  tweed  always  smells 
smoky. 

"  Sandy,  what  on  earth  have  you  got 
in  that  bundle  that  you  have  been  carrying  so 


The  Gathering  of  the  Clans     61 

carefully  ever  since  we  left  home  ? "  asked 
Donald. 

"  Hush  !  "  said  Sandy,  giving  him  a  violent 
kick. 

"  Don't  you  want  to  put  your  package  in 
the  luggage-rack  ? "  said  Doctor  Gordon, 
looking   over  the  top  of   his  morning  paper. 

"  No,  thank  you,  sir,"  said  Sandy,  growing 
very  red,  "  it's  no  trouble  to  carry." 

"  I  do  believe  there  is  something  moving 
about  in  it,"  cried  Donald,  getting  more  curi- 
ous and  moving  nearer.  Another  kick  came 
from  Sandy.  But  just  then  the  train  began 
to  cross  the  great  Firth  of  Forth  bridge,  and 
everything  else  was  forgotten  as  they  all  put 
their  heads  out  to  see  this  wonderful  bridge, 
nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  long. 

"  Can't  you  see  a  castle  yonder  ?  "  said  Doc- 
tor Gordon,  presently.  The  boys  were  on  the 
lookout,  and  Don  soon  spied  it  on  its  high 
hill  rising  above  the  trees. 


62       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

"  That  is  Stirling  Castle,  and  next  to  Edin- 
burgh Castle  it  is  probably  the  most  famous 
in  Scotland,"  said  Doctor  Gordon.  "  Many 
stirring  deeds  and  brave  battles  have  taken 
place  there  in  the  past." 

"  Castles  were  always  built  on  high  hills, 
were  they  not  ? "  asked  Donald. 

"  Yes,  so  that  they  could  be  more  easily  pro- 
tected, and  also  that  a  watch  could  be  kept 
over  many  miles  of  country,  in  order  to  guard 
against  any  surprise  by  an  enemy. 

"  Over  yonder  lies  the  Field  of  Bannock- 
burn,  where  was  fought  one  of  the  greatest 
battles  in  the  history  of  Scotland,  when  Robert 
Bruce  defeated  the  English,  and  broke  their 
power  in  Scotland." 

Doctor  Gordon  pointed  out  many  other 
historic  spots  as  they  were  whirled  along. 
Soon  the  scenery  became  more  wild  and 
beautiful ;  and  they  passed  lovely  rolling  hills 
covered   with    purple    heather,  forests,   and    a 


The  Gathering  of  the  Clans     63 

background  of  distant  mountains.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  train  was  drawing  in  to  Skyle- 
more  Station. 

"  There's  the  break  now,"  shouted  Don, 
"and  Andy  Maclose  driving;  and  there's 
Uncle  Alan  and  the  lassies." 

Such  a  welcome  as  they  all  got !  Then 
everybody  packed  themselves  into  the  big 
break,  or  carryall,  and  the  trunks  and  bags 
were  all  piled  into  a  cart,  all  except  Sandy's 
parcel,  which  he  stoutly  refused  to  part  with 
for  a  moment. 

Then  they  drove  off,  everybody  trying  to 
talk  at  the  same  time.  The  young  people 
were  full  of  the  birthday  party  which  was  to 
be  the  next  day. 

A  drive  of  a  few  miles  brought  them  to 
Skylemore,  where  Aunt  Jessie  was  waiting 
for  them  at  the  door,  and  soon  they  were 
enjoying  a  good  tea  around  a  blazing  fire 
in  the  big  hall. 


64       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

The  next  morning  the  birthday  celebration 
began  at  the  breakfast-table,  where  all  of  Mar- 
jorie's  presents  were  spread  out  around  her 
plate.  Marjorie  herself  was  so  excited  that 
she  could  hardly  open  the  parcels,  and  Mrs. 
Lindsay  had  to  help  her. 

There  was  a  nice  writing-desk  from  her 
father,  and  a  silver  inkstand  from  her  mother ; 
a  pretty  pen-holder  from  her  aunt,  and  a  pearl 
pin  from  her  uncle.  Donald  had  brought  her 
a  dear  little  silver  bracelet,  engraved  with  the 
words  "  Dinna  forget." 

"  Why,  this  is  the  package  that  Sandy 
brought  with  him/'  said  Donald,  after  all 
the  others  had  been  opened  and  examined ; 
"  it  was  for  Marjorie  all  the  time." 

So  it  was,  and  when  Marjorie  opened  it 
what  do  you  suppose  gravely  walked  out? 
Sandy's  one,  little,  fluffy  "  tewky  "  that  he 
was  so  proud  of!  Such  a  shout  of  laughter 
as  went  up   from   everybody !      Marjorie   was 


The  Gathering  of  the  Clans     65 

delighted,  for  she  had  so  often  admired  Sandy's 
pet,  and  its  accomplishments. 

"  To  think,  Sandy,  that  you  brought  it  all 
the  way,  and  never  told  us  what  you  had," 
said  Don,  as  soon  as  he  could  speak  for 
laughing.  "  I  did  hear  something  c  cheep,' 
though." 

After  Marjorie  had  thanked  everybody  for 
her  presents  the  merry  crowd  of  young  people 
finished  their  breakfasts,  put  the  "  tewky  "  in 
a  basket  with  something  to  eat,  and  all  went 
out  for  a  walk. 

First  they  went  down  through  the  little 
village  of  Skylemore,  where  the  village  people 
gave  the  children  a  hearty  greeting  and  asked 
after  the  "  Laird,"  as  they  called  Mr.  Lindsay, 
which  is  the  way  the  country-folk  always  speak 
of  the  owner  of  a  large  estate. 

The  little  girls  were  great  favourites  in  the 
village,  and  Marjorie  stopped  to  tell  everybody 
about  her  presents. 


66       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

c<  Let's  go  up  on  the  moor  and  around  by 
Allan  Water,"  said  Janet.  So  they  climbed 
up  over  the  hills,  hiding  from  each  other  in 
the  deep  purple  heather,  and  playing  that  they 
were  lost. 

"There's  cAuld  Wullie,'  the  'herd,'"  sud- 
denly called  out  Donald.  "  Herd  "  with  the 
Scotch  means  a  shepherd.  And  sure  enough 
there  was  "  Auld  Wullie "  sitting  on  a  rock 
wrapped  in  his  plaid,  —  a  small  black  and 
white  check,  —  which  is  the  kind  generally 
worn  by  the  shepherds,  and  has  so  come  to 
be  known  as  "  shepherd's  plaid." 

Around  him  were  his  sheep,  which  were 
carefully  watched  by  three  fine  collie  dogs, 
who  marched  around  the  flock,  and  kept  them 
in  order,  as  an  officer  does  his  soldiers.  "  Auld 
Wullie  "  was  a  great  friend  of  the  children, 
who  never  tired  of  hearing  his  tales  of  sheep- 
dogs and  shepherds,  and  their  lonely  lives  on 
the  moors  and  hillsides.     "  Auld  Wullie  "  was 


The  Gathering  of  the  Clans     67 

a  descendant  of  an  old  Highland  shepherd 
family,  who  always  among  themselves  spoke 
the  old  Gaelic  tongue,  and  it  was  great  fun 
for  the  children  to  get  him  to  address  them 
in  the  tongue  of  his  forefathers.  Gaelic  is 
even  yet  much  spoken  in  the  north  of  Scot- 
land. 

One  of  "  Auld  Wullie's  "  great  stories  was 
how  Dindie,  his  old  collie,  had  won  the  prize 
at  a  sheep-dogs'  contest.  These,  matches  are 
held  in  different  parts  of  Scotland,  and  the  dog 
who  can  handle  his  sheep  the  best  wins 
the  prize.  It  is  a  great  event  in  the  par- 
ticular neighbourhood  where  the  contest  is 
held,  and  only  the  best  trained  dogs  are  en- 
tered. 

"  An*  it's  the  lassie's  birthday.  Ay,  but 
she's  a  braw  lassie  now,"  said  the  herd,  as 
they  tramped  over  to  his  cottage  not  far 
away. 

It  was  a  tiny  cottage  of  rough  stones,  with 


68       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

a  roof  also  made  of  flat  stones,  and  a  large 
enclosure  at  the  back  for  the  sheep.  There 
were  only  two  rooms,  but  "  Auld  Wullie " 
asked  them  into  the  front  one,  which  the 
country  people  call  the  "  ben  room,"  and  for 
a  moment  went  himself  into  the  back  one, 
which  they  call  the  "  but  room."  Presently 
he  came  back  with  something  in  his  hand,  and 
as  the  party  left  the  little  house,  he  turned  to 
Marjorie,  and  said  :  "  Just  a  wee  giftie  for  the 
lassie,"  and,  to  her  surprise,  put  into  her  hands 
a  number  of  Scotch  pebbles. 

These  pebbles,  which  are  all  sorts  of  bright 
colours,  are  found  in  the  clear  mountain 
streams,  and  are  set  in  all  kinds  of  trinkets, 
—  brooches,  pins,  and  the  like,  —  and  sold  as 
souvenirs  of  bonnie  Scotland.  The  old  man 
had  gathered  them  in  his  lonely  walks  over 
the  hills,  and  you  can  imagine  how  pleased 
Marjorie  was. 

As    it   was    getting    near    dinner-time    our 


"-"_" . .._ 


;BUnfc>J«  M«Manoi 


.<'-*' 


1  JUST    A    WEE    GIFTIE    FOR    THE    LASSIE.' 


The  Gathering  of  the  Clans     69 

young  people  said  good-bye  to  "  Auld 
Wullie "  and  the  collies,  and  set  out  for 
home  as  quickly  as  they  could. 

The  afternoon  was  spent  in  getting  ready 
for  the  party  which  was  to  be  held  in  the 
evening.  It  was  to  be  a  fancy-dress  affair, 
and  there  was  much  flying  around  with  excite- 
ment, you  may  believe,  before  everything  was 
arranged. 

Marjorie  was  dressed  to  represent  a  blue- 
bell in  a  blue  dress  trimmed  with  bluebells 
and  a  little  blue  cap  on  her  head  shaped  like 
one  of  these  flowers.  Janet  was  heather.  Her 
dress  was  pale  pink,  with  garlands  of  real 
heather  bloom,  and  a  wreath  of  heather  on 
her  head.  These  two  flowers  are  great  favour- 
ites in  Scotland. 

Don  was  gotten  up  as  "  Rob  Roy,"  dressed 
in  the  Macgregor  tartan,  which  his  uncle  had 
loaned  him,  with  a  fierce-looking  skean-dhu 
stuck   in   his   stocking,   and   a  great  claymore 


70       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

hanging  by  his  side,  which  got  in  his  way 
most  of  the  time. 

Sandy  tried  to  look  kingly,  like  Robert 
Bruce,  with  a  gold-paper  crown  on  his  head. 
Altogether  they  made  a  very  splendid 
showing. 

The  children  had  barely  time  to  exhibit 
themselves  before  the  company  began  to 
come,  a  number  of  their  little  neighbours 
from  roundabout. 

They  all  played  games.  Aunt  Mary  started 
them  off  with  "  Merry  Metanzie,"  which  is 
played  with  a  handkerchief  while  singing  a 
song,  much  after  the  style  of  "  Dropping  the 
Handkerchief." 

Another  favourite  game  is  "Scotch  and 
English."  Two  sides  are  formed,  each  lining 
up  opposite  the  other,  and  an  attempt  is  made 
to  capture  any  opponent  who  puts  his  foot 
over    the    imaginary    border.      This,    as    you 


The  Gathering  of  the  Clans     71 

may  suppose,  is  a  game  which  usually  ends  in 
a  great  romp. 

After  this  they  all  went  in  to  a  fine  supper, 
with  a  big  cake  in  front  of  Marjorie's  plate, 
with  ten  candles  stuck  in  it,  all  alight,  one  for 
each  year  of  her  age.  After  the  young  folks 
had  eaten  much  more  than  was  good  for  them, 
there  was  dancing,  and  somebody  said :  "  Let's 
have  a  c  Sword  Dance/  and  a  real  c  Highland 
Fling.' "  So  nothing  would  do  but  that  they 
should  get  a  "gillie"  who  would  dance  the 
"  Sword  Dance,"  across  two  crossed  sword- 
blades,  with  much  agility  and  apparently 
much  risk  to  his  person. 

Everybody  gathered  in  the  big  hall,  and 
presently  in  came  old  Dugald  with  his  bag- 
pipes, while  behind  him  walked  a  splendid 
looking  fellow,  dressed  in  his  tartan,  who 
went  through  the  difficult  steps  of  his  dances 
in  a  way  that  won  the  applause  of  every 
one. 


72       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

Mr.  Lindsay  took  down  from  the  wall  two 
old  swords  and  laid  them  crossed  at  right 
angles  on  the  floor,  when  the  dancer  pranced 
in  and  out  and  between  their  sharp  edges 
without  ever  touching  them,  which  is  a  great 
feat. 

How  everybody  applauded !  Then  old 
Dugald  struck  up  his  pipes  again,  and  every- 
body sang  the  old  Scotch  song,  "  The  Blue- 
bells of  Scotland,"  in  honour  of  Marjorie. 
After  this  everybody  took  partners  and  danced 
the  reel,  what  we  call  the  "  Virginia  Reel,"  up 
and  down  the  big  hall.  In  the  midst  of  it  all 
in  walked  the  little  "  tewky"  Sandy's  gift  to 
Marjorie.  Where  he  came  from  nobody 
seemed  to  know ;  but  probably  he  was  lone- 
some, and  being  so  friendly  thought  he  would 
like  to  join  the  company. 

This  broke  up  the  dancing  pretty  effectually, 
everybody  was  laughing  so.  Don  tripped  over 
his    claymore    and    fell    against    Sandy,    while 


The  Gathering  of  the  Clans     73 

Sandy's  gilt  crown  went  rolling  down  the 
hall.  But  this  only  added  to  the  fun,  and  it 
was  a  tired  but  happy  lot  of  young  people  that 
Mrs.  Lindsay  bundled  off  to  bed,  at  a  very 
late  hour  for  Scotch  children. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

SOME    SCOTCH    CUSTOMS 

Our  little  Scotch  cousins  do  not  make  so 
much  of  Christmas  as  the  American  children. 
Their  great  holiday  is  the  New  Year.  On  the 
eve  of"  Hogmanay,"  as  it  is  called,  everybody 
stays  up  to  welcome  the  New  Year,  with  great 
jollification. 

"  Do  you  think  that  Uncle  Clarke  will  get 
here  in  time  ?  "  Don  asked  for  the  hundredth 
time  on  New  Year's  eve.  The  Gordons  had 
been  expecting  him  all  the  week,  but  he  had 
not  yet  come,  and  Don  went  about  grumbling 
that  "  Hogmanay  "  would  be  no  fun  at  all 
without   Uncle  Clarke. 

The  MacPhersons  and  the  Gordons  were 
all  sitting  in   the  library  of  Keivin  House,  to 

74 


Some  Scotch  Customs  75 

see  the  old  year  out  and  the  new  year  in.  A 
table  was  spread  with  cakes  and  many  other 
good  things  to  eat,  and  the  children  had  been 
wondering  all  the  evening  who  would  make 
the  "  first- footing." 

A  "  first-footing  "  is  made  by  the  first  person 
who  enters  the  house  after  the  stroke  of  mid- 
night ;  and  if  he  wishes  well  to  the  household, 
he  should  bring  a  cake  of  shortbread  with  him. 

There  is  always  great  hilarity  at  a  "  first- 
footing."  Everybody  kept  their  eyes  on  the 
clock,  and  Doctor  Gordon  pulled  out  his 
watch  every  little  while  to  be  sure  that  the 
clock  had  not  stopped. 

Just  as  the  stroke  of  twelve  rang  out,  all 
the  bells  of  the  city  began  to  ring,  and  great 
shouts  went  up  from  the  throngs  of  people 
who  crowded  the  streets,  and  there  was  a 
great  kissing  and  shaking  of  hands  among  the 
happy  households  who  had  assembled  for  the 
ceremony. 


76       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

In  the  midst  of  all  the  gaiety  at  Kelvin 
House  the  front  door-bell  rang.  "  Oh  !  there's 
our  '  first- footing/  "  shouted  the  children  in 
one  voice,  and  they  all  rushed  to  the  door. 
Who  should  it  be  but  Uncle  Clarke,  with  a  big 
cake  of  shortbread  in  his  arms ! 

"  I  knew  he'd  come,  I  knew  he'd  come," 
shouted  Don,  triumphantly,  dragging  him  into 
the  room.  Well,  wasn't  there  a  great  time ! 
and  wasn't  everybody  pleased ! 

After  this  other  friends  came  in  to  wish  the 
family  a  "  Happy  New  Year,"  and  then  every- 
body joined  hands  and  sang  "Auld  Lang 
Syne,"  that  best  known  song  of  Robert 
Burns,  Scotland's  greatest  poet. 

"  Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot, 
And  never  brought  to  mind  ? 
We'll  drink  a  cup  of  kindness  yet, 
For  the  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne." 

Another  great  event  for  the  children  of 
Scotland  is  to  hear  a  "  Royal   Proclamation," 


Some  Scotch  Customs  77 

which  is  a  message  from  the  king,  read  out  at 
Mercat  Cross  in  Edinburgh.  It  is  carried  out 
with  great  ceremony,  and  is  another  old-time 
custom  which  has  lived  to  this  day.  The 
heralds  come  in  their  gorgeous  costumes, 
all  red  and  blue  and  gold,  with  a  military 
escort  from  the  Highland  Regiment  at  the 
castle,  and  the  band  plays  as  the  procession 
makes  its  way  to  the  cross. 

There  is  a  great  fanfare  by  the  trumpeters, 
after  which  the  king's  message  is  read  out 
to  the  people  assembled.  Then  there  is  an- 
other fanfare  blown  on  the  long  trumpets, 
which  have  gorgeous  banners  hanging  from 
them,  after  which  the  band  plays  "  God  Save 
the  King,"  and  the  people  all  take  off  their  hats. 

One  morning  a  shrill  whistle  brought  Sandy 
to  his  garden  wall. 

"  What's  up  ?  "  he  called  out. 

"  Whist !  "  It  was  Don  who  swung  himself 
off  an  overhanging  branch  of  an  old  pear-tree, 


78       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

and  dropped  down  on  Sandy's  side  of  the 
wall. 

"There  are  a  lot  of  the  Irish  lads  behind 
the  churchyard  wall ;  they  didn't  see  me,  so 
I  sneaked  around  the  back  way.  Our  crowd 
is  going  to  be  at  the  top  of  the  street,  so  hurry 
up,"  said  Don,  in  a  most  excited  manner. 

"  I'm  ready,"  said  Sandy,  "  but  we  haven't 
got  a  bit  of  blue." 

"  Here's  a  ribbon  that  will  do ;  I  saved  it 
off  the  last  box  of  sweets,"  said  Don,  with  the 
air  of  a  general  planning  a  campaign,  as  he 
took  a  bedraggled  bit  of  blue  ribbon  out  of 
his  pocket  and  hastily  cut  it  in  two  with  his 
knife. 

Each  of  the  lads  tied  a  piece  in  his  button- 
hole as  they  ran  out  by  all  the  back  alleyways 
in  the  direction  of  the  church. 

What  was  it  all  about?  Well,  it  was  St. 
Patrick's  Day,  the  seventeenth  of  March,  and 
when  any  of  the  Scotch  and  Irish  lads  met  on 


Some  Scotch  Customs  79 

that  day,  there  was  bound  to  be  a  battle  be- 
tween them.  The  Irish  boys  wore  green  rib- 
bons, and  the  Scotch  boys  blue  ones. 

This  is  one  of  the  many  old  customs  which 
still  go  on  in  some  parts,  though  probably  not 
many  know  just  why  it  has  survived ;  and  the 
boys  themselves  perhaps  never  stop  to  realize 
that  it  is  an  old  custom,  and  do  not  care  what 
its  origin  may  have  been,  so  long  as  it  fur- 
nishes them  some  fun  and  no  serious  hurts 
come  of  it.  On  one  occasion  Don  came  home 
after  the  fray  with  a  big  bump  on  the  side  of 
his  head  which  had  frightened  his  mother,  but 
at  which  the  doctor  laughed,  and  said  a  few 
knocks  like  that  wouldn't  hurt  any  lad.  As 
for  Donald,  he  gloried  in  going  around  and 
showing  off  his  injury,  his  head  meanwhile 
wrapped  in  a  great  poultice.  For  this  he  was 
quite  a  hero  in  the  eyes  of  his  playmates. 

To-day  the  Scotch  line  of  battle  was  prepar- 
ing to  move  from  its  position  when  our  lads 


80       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

came  up  panting  and  breathless.  The  idea 
was  to  surprise  the  Irish  boys  entrenched 
behind  the  churchyard  wall,  who  were  guard- 
ing themselves  only  against  an  attack  which 
they  expected  to  come  from  an  entirely  differ- 
ent direction. 

Our  little  Scotch  band  crept  carefully  along, 
taking  advantage  of  the  shelter  of  every  wall 
and  tree.  They  had  drawn  up  in  the  rear  of 
the  enemy,  and  were  just  gathering  their  forces 
for  an  onslaught,  when  a  head  popped  round 
the  angle  of  the  wall,  and  out  rushed  the  whole 
troop  of  Irish  lads,  and  the  battle  begun. 

First  one  crowd  was  driven  down  the  hill 
and  then  the  other;  and  so  it  went  on  until 
from  sheer  fatigue  both  sides  drew  off,  each 
claiming  a  victory ;  which  probably  was  as 
good  a  way  of  deciding  it  as  any,  for  it  is  very 
hard  to  say  which  are  the  bravest,  the  Scotch 
or  the  Irish.  Both  nations  have  proved  them- 
selves fair  fighters  in  the  past. 


Some  Scotch  Customs  81 

The  next  day  Sandy  and  Don  were  seen 
playing  games  with  some  of  the  enemy,  so 
it  is  seen  no  hard  feelings  came  from  the 
encounter. 

Donald  and  Sandy  always  enjoyed  the  fun 
of  egg-rolling  at  Easter,  which  is  much  the 
same  kind  of  sport  that  children  amuse  them- 
selves with  in  some  parts  of  America,  though 
nobody  seems  to  know  just  how  the  custom 
originated. 

Then  the  children  have  "  Hallowe'en  "  par- 
ties, when  they  play  many  kinds  of  queer 
games.  Often  there  is  a  cake  in  which  there 
has  been  baked  a  small  china  doll,  a  brass  ring, 
a  thimble,  a  button,  and  a  threepenny  silver 
piece,  each  of  which  means  some  sort  of 
good  or  bad  fortune  for  the  one  who  finds 
it  in  his  or  her  piece  of  cake.  But,  generally 
speaking,  the  children  are  most  anxious  to 
receive  the  coin,  for  that  can  be  spent,  you 
know. 


82       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

We  must  not  forget  the  "  haggis,"  which 
Donald  sometimes  ate  for  dinner.  It  is  a 
favourite  old-time  Scotch  dish,  a  sort  of  a  pud- 
ding, made  of  various  kinds  of  meat  and  meal, 
and  put  into  a  bag  and  boiled  a  long  time.  It 
is  not  eaten  so  much  to-day  as  formerly,  but 
Mrs.  Gordon  always  made  a  point  of  having 
it  on  certain  special  occasions,  as  a  great  treat. 
As  it  is  very  rich,  and  quite  unsuited  as  a 
steady  diet  for  children,  perhaps  it  is  just  as 
well  that  they  do  not  have  it  too  often. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

SUMMER    HOLIDAYS 

It  was  the  beginning  of  the  summer  holi- 
days, and  the  Gordons,  with  Sandy,  had  come 
to  Skylemore  that  the  young  people  might 
spend  their  holidays  together. 

Many  pleasant  trips  had  been  planned,  and 
the  first  was  to  be  a  picnic  on  Loch  Katrine, 
which  was  not  far  from  Skylemore. 

It  was  early  on  a  bright  summer's  morning 
when  Dugald,  with  his  four  prancing  horses, 
appeared  at  the  door,  and  the  two  Clans  of 
Gordons  and  Lindsays,  to  say  nothing  of 
Sandy,  who  was  a  MacPherson,  piled  into 
the  big  break,  along  with  many  baskets  full 
of  good  things. 

With  a  waving   of  caps  and   handkerchiefs 

off  they  went,   and    soon   they   were   driving 

83 


84       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

along  the  beautiful  mountain  glens  and 
through  the  Trossachs,  which  means  literally 
a  wooded  gorge  or  ravine. 

"  There  is  the  loch  now,"  cried  Don, 
presently. 

"  No,  that  is  Loch  Achray,"  said  his  uncle, 
"and  that  mountain  is  Ben  Venue,  but  we 
shall  see  Loch  Katrine  very  soon;"  and  it 
was  not  long  before  Dugald  drew  up  on  the 
very  edge  of  the  loch  itself,  and  a  camping- 
place  was  soon  found  under  the  trees  and  in 
sight  of  Ellen's  Isle. 

Rugs  were  brought  from  the  break  and 
spread  on  the  ground  around  a  big  rock  which 
was  to  serve  as  a  table.  Everybody  helped 
to  unpack  the  big  baskets,  for  all  were  as 
hungry  as  if  they  had  had  no  breakfasts. 

Not  much  was  said  for  a  time  but  "  Please 
pass  that,"  and  "  Please  pass  this,"  and  "Isn't 
this  good  ?  "  until  finally  even  the  boys  decided 
they  had  eaten  enough. 


Summer  Holidays  85 

"  Papa,  tell  us  about  Ellen's  Isle,"  said 
Janet,  as  they  all  sat  around  after  lunch,  and 
tried  to  see  who  could  throw  a  stone  the 
farthest  into  the  water. 

So  Mr.  Lindsay  told  them  the  story  of  the 
"  fair  Ellen,"  whom  Sir  Walter  Scott  wrote 
of  in  his  great  poem  called  "  The  Lady  of 
the  Lake."  Ellen  was  called  "  the  lady  of  the 
lake,"  and  lived  with  her  father  on  the  little 
island  yonder.  Then  Mr.  Lindsay  told  them 
of  "Roderick  Dhu,"  and  of  the  gatherings  of 
the  Clan  Alpine  which  took  place  in  the  old 
days  in  a  glen  not  far  away,  and  how  at  a 
signal  armed  men  wrapped  in  their  plaids 
would  spring  up  out  of  the  seemingly  lonely 
dells  and  glens  as  if  by  magic. 

Those  were  wild  days  in  Scotland  long  ago, 
days  of  fierce  fights  and  brave  deeds,  when 
Clans  met  and  rushed  into  battle  with  a  wild 
"  slogan,"  as  their  battle-cry  was  known. 

"  Sandy  says  that  he  does  not  believe  that 


86       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

c  Rob  Roy  '  was  a  real  person  ;  but  he  was, 
and  lived  right  here,  didn't  he,  Uncle  Alan  ? " 
said  Don,  eagerly,  in  defence  of  his  hero. 

"  Indeed  he  did,  and  you  would  like  to  see 
his  old  home,  wouldn't  you,  Don  ? " 

"  Wouldn't  I  ! "  said  Don,  and  his  eyes 
shone. 

"  Well,  we  will  go  there  sometime ;  it  is 
now  a  sheep-farm,  but  was  once  the  old  home 
of  the  Macgregors.  In  c  Rob  Roy's '  time 
bands  of  lawless  men  came  down  from  the 
north  to  steal  cattle  and  do  other  kinds  of 
mischief.  So  the  c  lairds '  in  these  parts  paid 
c  Rob  Roy '  and  his  little  band  of  followers  to 
protect  their  property  from  these  invaders  and 
robbers.  In  after  days  the  band  was  formed 
into  a  regiment  called  the  c  Black  Watch,' 
which  to-day  is  one  of  the  most  famous  of 
the  Scotch  regiments." 

Sir  Walter  Scott  has  done  much  to  make 
this  part  of  Scotland  well  known,  and  people 


Summer  Holidays  87 

come  from  all  over  the  world,  and  especially 
from  America,  anxious  to  see  the  beautiful 
country  of  rocks  and  glens  and  heather-clad 
mountains  of  which  he  wrote  in  his  famous 
novels  and  poems. 

From  the  telling  of  stories  our  Clansmen 
soon  turned  to  singing  songs,  for  the  Scotch 
are  full  of  sentiment,  and  are  very  fond  of 
music.  Some  of  the  most  beautiful  of  our 
popular  songs  have  come  from  Scotland. 
There  is  one  which  is  known  the  world  over, 
and  sung  as  often  by  little  American  cousins 
as  by  little  Scotch  cousins  ;  and  that  is  "  Annie 
Laurie." 

So  when  Aunt  Jessie  began  to  sing  "Annie 
Laurie,,,  all  joined  in  with  a  will,  and  sang 
one  of  the  sweetest  songs  the  world  has  ever 
known : 

"  They  sang  of  love  and  not  of  fame, 
Forgot  was  Scotland's  glory. 
Each  heart  recalled  a  different  name, 
But  all  sang  'Annie  Laurie.'  " 


88       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

After  this  there  was  a  general  scramble  to 
get  the  things  picked  up.  The  whole  party 
mounted  again  to  their  seats  in  the  break,  and 
Dugald  made  the  four  horses  just  fly  for 
home ;  though  they  did  not  need  much  urg- 
ing, as  every  horse  seems  to  know  when  his 
head  is  turned  homeward. 

"  Is  that  Robert  Burns's  house  ? "  said 
Janet,  in  a  disappointed  voice. 

"Yes,  my  dear,"  said  her  father,  "great 
men  have  often  been  brought  up  in  small 
houses  like  this.  Bobby  Burns  was  only  a 
ploughboy,  but  he  became  a  great  poet,  one 
of  the  greatest  in  the  world." 

Our  little  Scotch  friends  were  standing 
before  the  little  house  at  Ayr,  where  Robert 
Burns  was  born.  They  had  come  down  from 
Glasgow  for  the  day  to  visit  that  part  of  Scot- 
land made  famous  by  the  poet.  It  is  hard  to 
say  of  whom  the  Scotch  people  are  most  fond 


«  OUR  LITTLE  SCOTCH  FRIENDS  WERE  STANDING  EEFORE 
THE  LITTLE  HOUSE  AT  AYR,  WHERE  ROBERT  BURNS 
WAS    BORN." 


aAv  ^ 


Summer  Holidays  89 

and  proud,  Scott  or  Burns.  The  young  peo- 
ple had  looked  forward  with  a  great  deal  of 
pleasure  to  this  visit,  and  they  all  felt  pretty 
much  as  Janet  did. 

It  was  a  tiny  house,  what  the  country  people 
call  a  "clay  biggin,"  with  a  thatched  roof.  In- 
side are  many  relics  of  Burns,  but  the  children 
were,  perhaps,  more  interested  in  "  Alloway's 
Auld  Haunted  Kirk."  This  is  the  small  church 
of  which  Burns  wrote  in  his  poem,  called 
"  Tam-o'-shanter,"  where  Tarn  saw  the  witches 
dance,  and  from  whence  he  started  on  his  wild 
ride,  with  the  witches  after  him  riding  on  broom- 
sticks. It  is  one  of  the  chief  attractions  for 
visitors. 

"  Oh  !  it  is  a  creepy  poem,"  said  Don  ;  and 
you  will  all  think  so,  too,  when  you  have 
read  it. 

They  saw  the  "Auld  Brig  of  Ayr,"  which 
means  the  old  bridge,  across  the  river  Ayr, 
and  they  walked  along  the  fC  Banks  and  Braes 


90       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

o'  Bonnie  Doon,"  of  which  Burns  wrote  and 
which  he  loved  so  well.  They  visited  the 
monument  to  Burns.  Marjorie  remarked  that 
it  was  not  a  very  grand  monument,  not  nearly 
so  grand  as  that  to  Scott  in  Edinburgh ;  and 
she  was  quite  right. 

"  Not  far  from  Ayr  was  the  home  of  Annie 
Laurie,"  said  Mr.  Lindsay,  as  the  train  speeded 
them  back  to  Glasgow. 

"Was  she  a  real  person,  father?"  eagerly 
exclaimed  the  little  girls  together. 

"  Indeed  she  was,  though  her  eyes  were  black 
and  not  blue,"  said  Mr.  Lindsay. 

"  How  do  you  know  ? "  asked  Janet,  who 
liked  to  be  exact. 

"  Because  her  portrait  is  still  to  be  seen  at 
Maxwelton  House,  near  the  town  of  Dumfries, 
where  she  lived,"  replied  her  father. 

"Well,  I'd  rather  her  eyes  had  been  blue," 
said  Marjorie,  and  the  children  kept  talk- 
ing   about    blue    and    black    eyes    until    they 


Summer  Holidays  91 

reached  the  great  St.  Enoch's  railway  station 
at  Glasgow. 

There  are  so  many  delightful  journeys  to 
be  made  from  Glasgow  by  rail  and  steamer 
that  it  is  one  of  the  best  starting  points  in 
all  Scotland  for  excursions,  of  which  all  chil- 
dren and  most  old  folks  are  so  fond.  The 
Lindsays  and  the  Gordons  were  accordingly 
to  stay  in  Glasgow  for  a  week,  that  the  young 
people  might  enjoy  more  of  these  rare  treats, 
and  take  some  of  the  lovely  sails  on  the  river 
Clyde  and  among  the  near-by  islands. 

Don  and  Sandy  were  having  some  hot  dis- 
cussions as  to  which  was  the  finest  city  in 
Scotland,  —  Glasgow  or  Edinburgh.  This 
was  about  the  only  thing  that  the  boys  ever 
disagreed  on.  Sandy's  father  came  originally 
from  Glasgow,  so  Sandy  always  stood  up 
for  it. 

"  It's  a  big  city,  and  lots  richer  than  Edin- 
burgh ;   and  think  of  all  the  business  that  is 


92       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

done  here,  and  of  the  lots  and  lots  of  ships 
that  come  and  go  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
It's  the  largest  city  in  Scotland,  too,  and  the 
second  city  of  the  kingdom,"  Sandy  would 
say. 

"  But  it's  not  so  beautiful  as  Edinburgh. 
It  hasn't  anything  like  Princes  Street,  nor 
so  many  famous  old  buildings  and  historic 
places,  nor  our  great  colleges.  Anybody  had 
rather  live  in  Edinburgh  —  you  know  you 
would,  Sandy,"   Don  would  argue. 

And  the  truth  of  it  all  was,  both  boys  were 
right. 

Early  one  morning  found  our  party  gathered 
on  the  steamer  Lord  of  the  Isles  for  a  cruise 
around  the  islands  off  the  coast.  They  passed 
the  great  ship-building  yards  of  the  Clyde,  the 
largest  in  the  world,  as  they  steamed  down  the 
river.  The  ships  built  upon  the  Clyde  have 
always  been  famous  all  over  the  world. 

cc  There  is   Gourock   Bay,  where  the  great 


Summer  Holidays  93 

racing  yachts  anchor,"  said  Mr.  Lindsay.  "  It 
was  always  thought  to  be  a  lucky  place  to  set 
sail.  It  was  from  this  bay  that  many  of  the 
yachts  sailed  for  America  when  they  were  to 
make  the  attempt  to  capture  the  c  America's 
Cup/  that  you  doubtless  all  know  about ;  but 
while  these  Clyde-built  boats  were  fine  yachts, 
none  of  them  have  been  lucky  enough  to  bring 
back  the  cup." 

Next  was  seen  the  Island  of  Bute  and  the 
old  Castle  of  Rothesay.  Here  they  entered 
a  narrow  bit  of  water,  called  the  Kyles  of  Bute, 
from  which  they  entered  Loch  Fyne,  famous 
for  its  fresh  herrings. 

Another  steamer  took  them  through  the 
Crinan  Canal,  and  thence  to  Oban,  the  capital 
of  the  Western  Highlands. 

In  this  part  of  Scotland,  called  by  every  one 
the  Highlands,  are  the  great  deer  forests  of 
many  thousands  of  acres,  belonging  to  some 
of  the  great   families  of  Scotland,  where  the 


94       Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

wild  deer  is  hunted,  or  "stalked,"  as  it  is 
called.  Here,  too,  are  wild  moors,  stretching 
for  miles  and  miles,  where  few  people  live 
except  the  shepherds  who  look  after  the 
flocks. 

There  was  another  fine  summer  which  was 
enjoyed  greatly  by  our  little  Scotch  cousins, 
and  that  was  when  some  young  American 
cousins  came  to  visit  the  Lindsays,  and  they 
all  went  on  Uncle  Alan's  yacht  for  a  lovely 
sail  of  many  days,  among  the  islands  which 
fringe  the  northern  and  western  coasts  of 
Scotland.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  they 
all  went  to  the  Isle  of  Skye  (some  of  you 
have  probably  heard  of  the  Skye  terriers), 
and  they  stopped,  too,  at  the  Shetland  Isles, 
where  the  little  horses  come  from.  Every  girl 
and  boy  wants  to  own  a  dear  little  Shetland 
pony. 

Didn't  they  have  a  splendid  time  on  this 
trip !     That  was  the  time,  too,  when  Donald 


Summer  Holidays  95 

and  Sandy  got  left  behind  on  one  of  the  islands 
where  they  had  all  landed  for  a  picnic, —  but 
that's  another  story  ! 

So  many  little  cousins  are  waiting  to  talk 
about  themselves  that  we  must  really  get  our 
little  Clan  safely  back  home,  and  leave  them 
for  the  present  to  talk  over  the  good  times 
thev  have  had  together. 


THE    END. 


THE  LITTLE  COUSIN  SERIES 

The  most  delightful  and  interesting  accounts  possible  of 
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Our  Little  African  Cousin 
Our  Little  Armenian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Brown  Cousin 

Our  Little  Canadian  Cousin 

By  Elizabeth  R.  Macdonald 

Our  Little  Chinese  Cousin 

By  Isaac  Taylor  Headland 

Our  Little  Cuban  Cousin 

Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  English  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Eskimo  Cousin 

Our  Little  French  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  German  Cousin 

Our  Little  Hawaiian  Cousin 

Our  Little  Indian  Cousin 

Our  Little  Irish  Cousin 

Our  Little  Italian  Cousin 
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Our  Little  Japanese  Cousin 
Our  Little  Jewish  Cousin 

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Our  Little  Mexican  Cousin 

By  Edward  C.  Butler 

Our  Little  Norwegian  Cousin 

Our  Little  Panama  Cousin 

By  H.  Lee  M.  Pike 

Our  Little  Philippine  Cousin 
Our  Little  Porto  Rican  Cousin 
Our  Little  Russian  Cousin 

Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Siamese  Cousin 

Our  Little  Spanish  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon  -  Roulet 

Our  Little  Swedish  Cousin 

By  Claire  M.  Coburn 

Our  Little  Swiss  Cousin 
Our  Little  Turkish  Cousin 


THE  GOLDENROD  LIBRARY 

The  Goldenrod  Library  contains  only  the  highest  and 
purest  literature,  —  stories  which  appeal  alike  both  to  chil- 
dren and  to  their  parents  and  guardians. 

Each  volume  is  well  illustrated  from  drawings  by  compe- 
tent artists,  which,  together  with  their  handsomely  decorated 
uniform  binding,  showing  the  goldenrod,  usually  considered 
the  emblem  of  America,  is  a  feature  of  their  manufacture. 

Each  one  volume,  small  i2mo,  illustrated,  dec- 
orated cover,  paper  wrapper      .         .         .         $0.35 

LIST  OF  TITLES 
Aunt  Nabby's  Children.     By  Frances  Hodges  White. 
Child's  Dream  of  a  Star,  The.     By  Charles  Dickens. 
Flight  of  Rosy  Dawn,  The.      By  Pauline  Bradford  Mackie 
Findelkind.     By  Ouida. 

Fairy  of  the  Rhone,   The.     By  A.  Comyns  Carr. 
Gatty  and  I.     By  Frances  E.  Crompton. 
Great  Emergency,  A.     By  Juliana  Horatia  Ewing. 
Helena's  Wonderworld.     By  Frances  Hodges  White. 
Jackanapes.     By  Juliana  Horatia  Ewing. 
Jerry's  Reward.     By  Evelyn  Snead  Barnett. 
La  Belle  Nivernaise.     By  Alphonse  Daudet. 
Little  King  Davie.     By  Nellie  Hellis. 
Little  Peterkin  Vandike.     By  Charles  Stuart  Pratt. 
Little  Professor,  The.     By  Ida  Horton  Cash. 
Peggy's  Trial.     By  Mary  Knight  Potter. 
Prince  Yellowtop.     By  Kate  Whiting  Patch. 
Provence  Rose,  A.    By  Ouida. 
Rab  and  His  Friends.     By  Dr.  John  Brown. 
Seventh  Daughter,  A.     By  Grace  Wickham  Curran. 
Sleeping  Beauty,  The.     By  Martha  Baker  Dunn. 
Small,  Small  Child,  A.     By  E.  Livingston  Prescott. 
Story  of  a  Short  Life,  The.     By  Juliana  Horatia  Ewing, 
Susanne.     By  Frances  J.  Delano. 
Water  People,  The.     By  Charles  Lee  Sleight. 
Young  Archer,  The.     By  Charles  E.  Brimblecom. 


COSY  CORNER  SERIES 

It  is  the  intention  of  the  publishers  that  this  series  shall 
contain  only  the  very  highest  and  purest  literature,  — 
stories  that  shall  not  only  appeal  to  the  children  them- 
selves, but  be  appreciated  by  all  those  who  feel  with 
them  in  their  joys  and  sorrows. 

The  numerous  illustrations  in  each  book  are  by  well-known 
artists,  and  each  volume  has  a  separate  attractive  cover 
design. 

Each  i  vol.,  i6mo,  cloth $0.50 

By  ANNIE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON 

The  Little  Colonel.   (Trade  Mark) 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  Kentucky.  Its  heroine 
is  a  small  girl,  who  is  known  as  the  Little  Colonel,  on 
account  of  her  fancied  resemblance  to  an  old-school  South- 
ern gentleman,  whose  fine  estate  and  old  family  are  famous 
in  the  region. 

The  Giant  Scissors. 

This  is  the  story  of  Joyce  and  of  her  adventures  in 
France.  Joyce  is  a  great  friend  of  the  Little  Colonel,  and 
in  later  volumes  shares  with  her  the  delightful  experiences 
of  the  "  House  Party"  and  the  «  Holidays." 

Two  Little  Knights  of  Kentucky. 

Who  Were  the  Little  Colonel's  Neighbors. 

In  this  volume  the  Little  Colonel  returns  to  us  like  an 
old  friend,  but  with  added  grace  and  charm.  She  is  not, 
however,  the  central  figure  of  the  story,  that  place  being 
taken  by  the  "  two  little  knights." 

Mildred's  Inheritance. 

A  delightful  little  story  of  a  lonely  English  girl  who 
comes  to  America  and  is  befriended  by  a  sympathetic 
American  family  who  are  attracted  by  her  beautiful  speak- 
ing voice.  By  means  of  this  one  gift  she  is  enabled  to 
help  a  school-girl  who  has  temporarily  lost  the  use  of  her 
eyes,  and  thus  finally  her  life  becomes  a  busy,  happy  one. 


I.   C.  PAGE  AND   COMPANY'S 


By  ANNIE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON  {Continued) 

Cicely  and  Other  Stories  for  Qirls. 

The  readers  of  Mrs.  Johnston's  charming  juveniles  will 
be  glad  to  learn  of  the  issue  of  this  volume  for  young 
people. 

Aunt  'Liza's  Hero  and  Other  Stories. 

A  collection  of  six  bright  little  stories,  which  will  appeal 
to  all  boys  and  most  girls. 

Big  Brother. 

A  story  of  two  boys.  The  devotion  and  care  of  Steven, 
himself  a  small  boy,  for  his  baby  brother,  is  the  theme  of 
the  simple  tale. 

Ole  Mammy's  Torment. 

"  Olc  Mammy's  Torment "  has  been  fitly  called  "  a  classic 
of  Southern  life."  It  relates  the  haps  and  mishaps  of  a 
small  negro  lad,  and  tells  how  he  was  led  by  love  and  kind- 
ness to  a  knowledge  of  the  right. 

The  Story  of  Dago. 

In  this  story  Mrs.  Johnston  relates  the  story  of  Dago,  a 
pet  monkey,  owned  jointly  by  two  brothers.  Dago  tells 
his  own  story,  and  the  account  of  his  haps  and  mishaps  is 
both  interesting  and  amusing. 

The  Quilt  That  Jack  Built. 

A  pleasant  little  story  of  a  boy's  labor  of  love,  and  how 
it  changed  the  course  of  his  life  many  years  after  it  was 
accomplished. 

Flip's  Islands  of  Providence. 

A  story  of  a  boy's  life  battle,  his  early  defeat,  and  his 
final  triumph,  well  worth  the  reading. 
A- 4 


COSY  CORNER  SERIES 


By  EDITH  ROBINSON 

A  Little  Puritan's  First  Christmas. 

A  story  of  Colonial  times  in  Boston,  telling  how  Christ- 
mas was  invented  by  Betty  Sewall,  a  typical  child  of  the 
Puritans,  aided  by  her  brother  Sam. 

A  Little  Daughter  of  Liberty. 

The  author's  motive  for  this  story  is  well  indicated  by  a 
quotation  from  her  introduction,  as  follows : 

"  One  ride  is  memorable  in  the  early  history  of  the 
American  Revolution,  the  well-known  ride  of  Paul  Revere. 
Equally  deserving  of  commendation  is  another  ride,  —  the 
ride  of  Anthony  Severn,  —  which  was  no  less  historic  in  its 
action  or  memorable  in  its  consequences." 

A  Loyal  Little  Maid. 

A  delightful  and  interesting  story  of  Revolutionary  days, 
in  which  the  child  heroine,  Betsey  Schuyler,  renders  im- 
portant services  to  George  Washington. 

A  Little  Puritan  Rebel. 

This  is  an  historical  tale  of  a  real  girl,  during  the  time 
when  the  gallant  Sir  Harry  Vane  was  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

A  Little  Puritan  Pioneer. 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  the  Puritan  settlement  at 
Charlestown.  The  little  girl  heroine  adds  another  to  the 
list  of  favorites  so  well  known  to  the  young  people. 

A  Little  Puritan  Bound  Girl. 

A  story  of  Boston  in  Puritan  days3  which  is  of  great 
interest  to  youthful  readers. 

A  Little  Puritan  Cavalier. 

The  story  of  a  "  Little  Puritan  Cavalier"  who  tried  with 
all  his  boyish  enthusiasm  to  emulate  the  spirit  and  ideals  of 
the  dead  Crusaders. 
A— a 


L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S 


By  OUIDA  {Louise  de  la  Ramie) 
A   Dog  Of   Flanders  :  A  Christmas  Story. 
Too  well  and  favorably  known  to  require  description. 

The  Nurnberg  Stove. 

This  beautiful  story  has  never  before  been  published  at 
a  popular  price. 

By  FRANCES  MARGARET  FOX 

The  Little  Giant's  Neighbours. 

A  charming  nature  story  of  a  "  little  giant  "  whose  neigh- 
bours were  the  creatures  of  the  field  and  garden. 

Farmer  Brown  and  the  Birds. 

A  little  story  which  teaches  children  that  the  birds  are 
man's  best  friends. 

Betty  of  Old  Mackinaw. 

A  charming  story  of  child-life,  appealing  especially  to 
the  little  readers  who  like  stories  of  "  real  people." 

Brother  Billy. 

The  story  of  Betty's  brother,  and  some  further  adven- 
tures of  Betty  herself. 

Mother  Nature's  Little  Ones. 

Curious  little  sketches  describing  the  early  lifetime,  or 
"  childhood,"  of  the  little  creatures  out-of-doors. 

How  Christmas    Came  to  the  Mul= 
vaneys. 

A  bright,  lifelike  little  story  of  a  family  of  poor  children, 
with  an  unlimited  capacity  for  fun  and  mischief.  The 
wonderful  never-to-be  forgotten  Christmas  that  came  to 
them  is  the  climax  of  a  series  of  exciting  incidents. 

A-6 


